Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly got it down to two candidates to be the next club captain when Michael Carrick retires this summer.
The Portuguese tactician is said to be weighing up picking either goalkeeper David de Gea or midfielder Nemanja Matic to take the armband for next season, according to the Metro.
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Both are certainly senior players in this United squad, with De Gea having the longevity as a bonus, while Matic has impressed hugely in just his first season at the club, as well as having worked under Mourinho before at Chelsea.
Carrick only became captain this season following the summer departure of Wayne Rooney to Everton, but at the age of 36 is now set to hang up his boots.
It seems vital Mourinho gets this big decision right, with the club in need of a real role model and leader on the pitch after a frustrating few seasons.
The Red Devils haven’t won the Premier League since 2012/13, and despite currently sitting second in the table, were never really anywhere near champions Manchester City this term.
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The Metro have also suggested Paul Pogba may have been a candidate at some point after being given the armband for one game against Leicester City, and with Mourinho quoted as saying he could envisage him in the role in the future.
‘Against Leicester we felt that it could be an extra motivation for him and that was it, there was no special decision. But maybe, because he’s a young guy and made in the club academy, he has the conditions to be captain in the future,’ Mourinho said at the time.
However, with the pair’s relationship allegedly deteriorating since then, the Metro now state that the France international is out of contention.