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JOSE MOURINHO’S BEST XI

So far José Mourinho has chopped and changed his first-team and can’t seem to find one for all occasions. It’s early days, but Mourinho’s got to find an XI where he has full faith in them going out and getting the job done.

Here at Colossus Bets, we look at what Mourinho’s best XI (on paper) looks like:

David De Gea

The first name one the team sheet week in, week out – it’s a little bit sad how De Gea is constantly called on every week to make some outlandish save to keep Manchester United in the game.

Antonio Valencia

Surprisingly, Valencia is now Manchester United’s best right-back. After bringing in Matteo Darmian from Torino two seasons ago, it had looked a long way back for the Ecuadorian. However, the Red Devils’s utility man now looks to have locked down that spot and is thriving under José Mourinho.

Eric Bailly

He’s a newbie and still very young for a centre-back, but Bailly’s proved early on that he’s a no-nonsense defender and has taken the Premier League by storm. The Ivorian is a towering figure in United’s defence that can also prove to be an asset from a set-piece.

Daley Blind

One of the biggest myths in football is that Blind is inept against powerful strikers. He may have had one bad game vs Troy Deeney last season but, more often than not, the Dutchman has been absolutely superb. He’s tactically one step ahead of anyone on the pitch and builds attacks from the back. He has to start.

Luke Shaw

He may have missed out the majority of last season, but there’s no better left-back – when on form – in England than Luke Shaw. His campaign has started tentatively with some bright spots, but it’s only going to improve as he negotiates past the first month of being back in the Premier League.

Michael Carrick

Carrick may have signed a new one-year contract extension with the Red Devils over the summer, but José Mourinho hadn’t used him at all until the EFL Cup fixture against Northampton Town. The former England midfielder scored a wonderful goal to put Manchester United in front and dictated play well in midfield. He will struggle against the teams who thrive off counter-attacks as he doesn’t have the legs, but Carrick can still offer United the balance they need.

Ander Herrera

A lot of people seem to doubt Herrera but when he’s been called upon, he’s always done a job and performed. He’s not a world-class midfielder, but he’ll always raise his game when needed and offers defensive duties along with getting forward and posing a goal threat (see Northampton). The dynamism that United have lacked recently is what Herrera is in the team for.

Paul Pogba

The £89m-rated midfielder has had a rather slow start to life at Manchester United. He started brilliantly against Southampton on his debut but, ever since that, the normally effervescent and combative midfielder has lacked his sparkle. It’ll take time to adjust to a new life, but Mourinho’s got to help the Frenchman out in using a system that is moulded around him.

Marcus Rashford

He might be young, but time after time Marcus Rashford has proved that he is ready to be starting games. That’s not to say he should be starting every game, but given the form he’s in now, it would be a mistake not to start the fully-fledged England player.

Zlatan Ibrahimović

Given that Ibrahimović has provided something completely different to Manchester United’s attack, the Swede is the target man and focal point of the team. He’s hit the ground running and got off to a good start, the only question is whether he can maintain this form for the whole season.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Mkhitaryan has been eased into his new team by Mourinho, but unfortunately for him, the Armenian has had injury problems that have prevented him from the consistency he needs when playing in the Premier League. Mkhitaryan had a Manchester Derby to forget, but the sooner he gets back to full fitness, the better it’ll be for Manchester United.

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