Sport
Mourinho has his spine, what next?
If you’re a Manchester United fan, you’re in the privileged position of having a stress-free August. There’ll be no panicking on deadline day when there’s three positions that desperately need reinforcements. José Mourinho, along with Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman of Man Utd, has done a remarkable job of recruiting – and securing – world-class players before the season has even started. Mourinho has his spine, what next?
It was just a few months ago that the Red Devils’s fans were in a bleak state of mind. Apart from the FA Cup win, there was very little to be looking forward to. Louis van Gaal wasn’t looking forward, he was going sideways, the players looked totally fed up, and on the off chance that the club could sign a player before the deadline day, it was most likely going to be a Bruno Martins-Indi.
However, thanks to the right decision and ballsy move by Ed Woodward, José Mourinho was appointed. Someone that isn’t afraid to go against the grain and a manager that can attract the very top players to play under him – even without the luxurious offer of Champions League football every Tuesday night.
Wind forward a few months into August and Man Utd have signed: Zlatan Ibrahimović, Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba. Yes, Pogba. One of the best midfielders in the world, and yes, the same one they let go of for £800,000 a few years ago.
The Portuguese manager was adamant when he came into the Manchester United hot seat that he wanted four new, sparkly signings. Ed Woodward delivered. You can understand what Mourinho’s succeeded in doing: he’s creating the spine of Manchester United. Eric Bailly, a young centre-back but already fairly established; Paul Pogba, the combative box-to-box midfielder and presence United have so desperately lacked; Henrikh Mkhitaryan, an intelligent and intuitive attacker to speed up play around the opposition’s box and Zlatan Ibrahimović, a world-class aerial threat that has the winning mentality the Red Devils need.
These four signings were all done before the 9th of August. A stark contrast in what happened under David Moyes and LvG, that’s for sure.
What’s now interesting is what Mourinho’s next state of play will be. It is said that the ex-Chelsea boss will need to offload some players and trim the fat before more signings can be authorised – if there are to be any.
The likes of Marcos Rojo, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Daley Blind, Phil Jones and Ashley Young are all under review for permanent sales, while Adnan Janzuaj and Andreas Pereira are lining up possible loan moves in order to obtain more playing time.
Donald Love and Paddy McNair have both been recruited by ex-Manchester United boss David Moyes for Sunderland, in which a sum of around £7m will be paid for the two.
Providing Mourinho can offload a few players that are surplus to requirements, which won’t be an easy job given their wage demands and luxuries at Manchester United, he will then look to sign a more experienced centre-back and even possibly a right-back if Matteo Darmian decides he wants out.
The Red Devils are coming into a new era under Mourinho – one that promises success and glory. However, he’ll first need to overcome and conquer the other side of Manchester, for Pep Guardiola and his troops are waiting.
