Enrique's Man Utd blueprint - Ferguson influence and Sancho role

The future of Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continues to be in the spotlight amid the club's concerning run of results.

The latest candidate to emerge as a contender to potentially succeed the Norwegian in his role at Old Trafford is Spain boss Luis Enrique.

The former Barcelona midfielder has guided La Roja to next year's World Cup finals in Qatar, having coached them to the Euro 2020 semi-finals and this year's Nations League final.

His coaching career has previously encompassed spells at Celta Vigo, Roma and Barcelona - where he memorably won the treble, including the club's last Champions League title, in 2015.

Luis Enrique is held in the upmost regard in coaching circles, and it is little surprise he is being linked to the United post.

We have taken a look at his coaching style and teams to see what he would bring to Old Trafford.

Sir Alex Ferguson inspiration

The legacy of Sir Alex Ferguson is enduring at Manchester United with his style of play still significant in shaping the club's playing identity.

Luis Enrique's style embraces many of these methods but most notably his side's quick, punchy counter-attacks and transition from defence into attack.

Admittedly, this is not as pronounced at Spain - who enjoy lots more possession and control of the ball - than his previous club sides.

Yet Luis Enrique's style is not identical to Pep Guardiola and has greater pragmatism in having his sides sitting deeper yet pulling punchy counter-attacks.

This is the style that Ferguson mastered at Old Trafford and the more direct style of attack would prove a big hit with the United faithful.

Consistency in formation

Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United have been reasonably flexible in their tactical approach depending on the scope and size of the task.

The most common formation used under the Norwegian has been a 4-2-3-1, with a fluid three-man attacking system operating behind a central striker.

In recent weeks, that has been ditched for a 3-5-2 system - to enhance defensive solidity and make the side harder to break down.

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Luis Enrique throughout his coaching career has stuck with a 4-3-3 formation, although occasionally switching to a 3-4-3.

Ahead of Spain's definitive final day qualification win over Sweden, Luis Enrique insisted he would not alter his normal style of play for the game (a draw would have been enough to secure qualification).

The boss insisted: "We are going to take risks.

"I don't want to draw. Our plan never changes."

Full-back significance

Linked into his loyalty to 4-3-3, the two full-backs are absolutely vital for Luis Enrique's style of play and offering width.

The two 'wide forwards' in the front-three are often inverted forwards; this was most pronounced at Barcelona, where this style got the best out of Neymar and Lionel Messi.

Neymar cut inside from the left onto his stronger right-foot with Messi doing the opposite from the right-flank, with full-backs Dani Alves and Jordi Alba encouraged to bomb down the wings - where they began to pile up assists.

Jordi Alba is still playing a similar role for Luis Enrique at Spain, and at United this would mean that Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka would have plenty of responsibility in attack.

This may suit Shaw better than Wan-Bissaka, whose attacking output has been questioned.

Always rotating

Luis Enrique is never too loyal to any one player and cannot be accused of not giving players a chance.

In Spain's eight World Cup qualifiers, he has played 43 different players - enough for almost four entirely different starting line-ups.

In his 33 matches at the helm, an incredible 72 players have been capped.

He has said: "I am lucky to be a national coach with 50 or 60 players at the level to be internationals."

His selections often draw criticism from the Spanish press, but the boss is usually vindicated - as was the case with his selection of Gavi, 17, for the Nations League finals.

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The Barcelona teenager had never played a full 90 minutes of senior football but went on to star for his nation.

Luis Enrique retorted to reporters that their opinions were irrelevant to him: "I don't read the press, as I know more than you (journalists).

"There's nothing I could read today that would be of any interest."

Good news for the likes of Dean Henderson, Donny van de Beek, Alex Telles, Jesse Lingard and Diogo Dalot - who, among others - have been isolated at United.

Jadon Sancho role

A key element of Luis Enrique's 4-3-3 approach, as mentioned, was the use of the wider forwards in the three-man attack.

They are not expected to act as wingers but will have flexible roles in attack and this could benefit Sancho more than any other player at Old Trafford.

Sancho thrived for Borussia Dortmund in a right-sided role in the German side's three-pronged attack and this would share similarities to what Luis Enrique is attempting to implement.

United's 4-2-3-1 formation and 3-5-2 meant this precise place was not available in the system, although Mason Greenwood was preferred in the former approach.

Sancho would operate in the right-sided role of a three-man frontline and could have significant prominence.