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Manchester United boss defends Marcus Rashford’s gametime

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has defended the amount of gametime Marcus Rashford has received under his management. The 20-year-old scored for England during the recent internationals against both Spain and Switzerland and this had brought criticism over Mourinho’s handling of him at Old Trafford.

However, speaking ahead of the Watford game, Mourinho appeared to counteract the criticism by citing that Rashford has played more first-team football with United when compared to other graduates at their respective clubs, he said: “People speaking about his minutes, they are a bit confused. Marcus Rashford is not [Liverpool striker] Dominic Solanke. He’s not [Chelsea midfielder] Ruben Loftus-Cheek. He’s not [Everton forward] Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He’s Marcus Rashford, Manchester United player, with an incredible number of appearances and an incredible number of minutes played at the highest level in the best possible competitions.”
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Daley Blind speaks positively about Jose Mourinho

Ajax midfielder Daley Blind has spoken positively about his experience of playing under Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho. The Netherlands international spent four seasons with the Old Trafford outfit and out of those, two were spent under the tutelage of the Portuguese tactician with whom he shared a good relationship. Speaking to reporters, he said: “I almost played 150 matches. I won four trophies. I had a very beautiful time. I had many nice moments there. “I am very grateful to the fans. I worked very nice[ly] with Mourinho.”

Blind had barely featured for Mourinho during the course of the previous campaign but he was nevertheless offered the chance to stay for at least another year. However, the Dutchman believed it would be the right choice to extend his professional career elsewhere and the prospect of returning to Ajax was too hard to refuse.
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Jose Mourinho hints at Anthony Martial stay next season

Manchester United Jose Mourinho has dropped a huge hint about Anthony Martial’s future by suggesting that the Frenchman could start the league opener against Leicester City next month. The France international is presently with the United squad for their pre-season tour of the United States despite his agent recently suggesting that he could move on from Old Trafford.

Speaking ahead of United’s pre-season opener against Club America, Mourinho said: “Hopefully he [Sanchez] join us later. Because it would be important at least to work with Mata, Alexis, Martial, which we think are the players we have in attack for the start of the season. No Lukaku, no Lingard, no Marcus Rashford, so if Alexis is not working with us for 15 or 20 days it will be very bad.”
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Manchester United unveil the signing of Fred

Manchester United have unveiled the signing of midfielder Fred after they managed to sort out his work permit. The Brazil international has now formally been registered as a United player and he becomes the club’s second recruit of the transfer window following the arrival of Diogo Dalot from FC Porto.

Speaking after the move, Fred said:“This is the biggest club in the world and I am delighted to be a part of this amazing team. To work with Jose Mourinho, who has won so many trophies in his time as a coach, is an opportunity not to be missed. I cannot wait to get started and to meet my new team-mates. I would like to thank everyone at Shakhtar Donetsk for everything they have done for me over the past five years. This is a very exciting time for me with my focus now fully on the World Cup with Brazil.”
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Nemanja Matic urges Manchester United to bring in experienced players

Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic has urged the club’s hierarchy to pursue experienced players during this summer’s transfer window. The Red Devils ended the season trophy less after succumbing to a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup final defeat but Matic believes the club can challenge for Premier League and Champions League honours in the future.

He said: “I think we need some players with some experience to bring some more qualities to our team. After that, we can fight for the title and the Champions League also. I think that we have improved. As you know, United last year were sixth. The year before that, fifth. So we improve, we are second. The only team who is better than us this year is Man City. Obviously, they play amazing football. But we are second and we are in the Champions League next year which is the most important thing.”
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Manchester United confirm signing of Diogo Dalot from FC Porto

Manchester United have wrapped up the second signing of the summer transfer window with Diogo Dalot arriving from FC Porto for a reported fee of £19.3m. The Portuguese teenager managed just eight appearances at the senior level for Porto but he has done enough in order to earn a long-term deal with United.

“Diogo is an extremely talented young defender with all the qualities to quickly become a great player for this club. He has all the attributes that a full-back needs: physicality, tactical intelligence and technical quality, combined with a Porto Academy mentality which prepares players for the maturity they need at the professional level. In his age group, he is the best full-back in Europe and we all believe he has a bright future ahead of him at Manchester United,” Mourinho is quoted as saying on the club’s official website.
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Jose Mourinho Counting On Ashley Young Next Term

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has praised the impact of Ashley Young during the current campaign and believes the Englishman could have a similar role to play next term. The 33-year-old has been the undisputed first-choice in the left-back position this season, contributing two goals and seven assists in 36 appearances for the club.

Speaking to MUTV, Mourinho was pleased with the performance of Young over the course of the season and feels the Englishman has answered plenty of questions which were pointed out towards his fitness, age and ability to play at the highest level. He said: “When I arrived, he was playing a few matches per season. For the last couple of seasons, lots of injuries, lots of doubts, lots of question marks about his future at the highest level. (more…)

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Joel Pereira Keen To Repay Jose Mourinho’s Faith

Portuguese goalkeeper Joel Pereira is keen to live up to his potential with Manchester United. The 21-year-old is currently the Red Devils’ third-choice goalkeeper behind David de Gea and Sergio Romero, but he has been backed by Jose Mourinho to become one of Portugal’s best shot-stoppers of the current generation.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Pereira stressed that he is very happy at Old Trafford despite playing deputy to De Gea and Romero, he said: “I’m very happy. As the number three, I have two top goalkeepers in front of me, and they help me a lot too. They have lots of experience and they can help me with that. Obviously, I have a manager who has helped me so much and has always been by my side. I’m learning a lot so I am happy where I am. Obviously, it’s very nice to hear good stuff coming from the manager. Now is my time to show people that he’s right about me and everything he says is actually the truth. I’m just learning and getting some experience. We’ll see what happens next.”

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Henrikh Mkhitaryan insists Manchester United stint was a success

Armenia international Henrikh Mkhitaryan has stressed that his 18-month spell with Manchester United was a success. The 29-year-old netted 13 goals in 63 appearances for the Red Devils before making the switch to Arsenal in a swap agreement involving Alexis Sanchez.

In an interview with SFR Sport, Mkhitaryan defended his stint with the Red Devils, and believes he had relatively good success with the club, having netted the crucial second goal during the Europa League final win over Ajax last season, he said: “I think I left an impression in Manchester, although I had difficulties. We won three titles in a year and a half — not every club does that. We won the Europa League, and I scored a goal in the final. If people say that I did not have enough success it is their opinion but I believe that I had a lot of success at the club.”

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Nemanja Matic Has No Excuse For Manchester United’s Champions League Exit

Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic has admitted that the team can provide no excuse for their lacklustre showing against Sevilla in the round of 16 of the Champions League. The Red Devils failed to show up over the course of the two-legged tie, and they eventually lost by a 2-1 aggregate scoreline.


The Red Devils played out a dull 0-0 draw on the road to Sevilla last month, and this had put them in a strong position to beat the Andalusian outfit at home, where they had lost only to Manchester City this term. However, their approach towards the game was negative from the start, and they came on to haunt them in the final 20 minutes with Wissam Ben Yedder coming off the bench to score a match-winning brace. Romelu Lukaku did manage to score in the 84th minute, but it only turned out as a consolation.

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