Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United, the 'real Lionel Messi' and are Barcelona back? - European Storylines we're watching

With a World Cup in the middle of the 2022-23 football season, the top domestic leagues are returning early. This weekend the Premier League, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga all return, with La Liga and Serie A coming back one week later. This season we wanted to do something a little bit different.

So we got in touch with our offices from Spain, France, Germany and Italy and put together what we're calling 'European Storylines'. We asked every office to nominate two storylines they are excited to keep an eye on during the season. Ad/> These are what we came up with.

Transfers'Hopefully we can get it done' — Tuchel aims to sign Cucurella in time to face Everton42 MINUTES AGO Premier League Can Erik ten Hag save Manchester United? This is the big one. Manchester United are the biggest club in England but since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement they've looked nothing like that. David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have all tried and failed to take United back to where they should be, struggling to control a dressing room full of egos and to deal with a board that doesn't seem to know what they're doing.

Now there is a new football hierarchy and, perhaps more importantly, a new manager in Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman won rave reviews for the way his Ajax side played but this will be his toughest task yet. Can he get United's players to buy into the way he wants his teams to play? Can he deal with the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo which, at the time of writing, is still lingering over the club.