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Chris Sutton urges Manchester United to consider Jose Mourinho’s position

BBC pundit Chris Sutton believes Manchester United should consider the position of Jose Mourinho following their disappointing 3-1 derby defeat at the hands of Manchester City. The Red Devils had come into the game on the back of three successive league victories but their performance at the Etihad was far from impressive as they barely posed a threat to the home side.

Following the game, Sutton stressed that the Red Devils were truly outclassed in the encounter and there is already an enormous gap between them and their cross-town rivals. He added that the club should seriously assess the position of the Portuguese tactician and think twice before offering him a transfer budget for the New Year.
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic backs Jose Mourinho despite Manchester United’s struggles

Former Manchester United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic feels Jose Mourinho has the credentials to win another Premier League title but may not happen with the calibre of players at Old Trafford. The Portuguese tactician has come under fire from the supporters following an average start to the campaign and this has increased speculation of him parting ways with the club in the near future.

Speaking to BetHard, Zlatan was supportive of his former manager with whom he has worked at both Inter Milan and United, and believes he can turn the situation around, should the players progress alongside him, he said: “I think he has the ability to win [the Premier League]. I think he is the right coach for that club, for that team. But a coach is only as good as his team, so it’s not like he can do miracles if the team is not good enough. And I feel the team is good – it’s progressing, becoming better. This is his third year, the players know more and more the way he wants to play and how he wants it – so I believe, yes.”
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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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Mbappe and Neymar to be the next great rivals

It has been a few years in the making and still appears a few years off arriving, but football fans regularly contemplate what life will be like when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo either fall from their ridiculous standards or retire gracefully. Aged 31 and 33 respectively, they are at the time of the career when most normal footballers exhibit some signs of decline. Yet the reason they have had such longevity at the top of the game is their work ethic combined with ludicrous ability. Perhaps it could be the arrival of two new bona fide superstars that will encourage Messi and Ronaldo to hang up their boots.

If Messi or Ronaldo had been able to carry their national side to a World Cup title, they could have looked around the sport and decided that there were truly no more worlds to conquer. Instead, Ronaldo was his usual prolific self but received little help, while Messi never really looked comfortable in Argentina’s system under Jorge Sampaoli. Two men who have enjoyed far more successful World Cups are Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. The latter is, of course, Messi’s former Barcelona team-mate, while both are players who have been linked with moves to Real Madrid at various times to either supplement or usurp Ronaldo. Mbappe even grew up idolising Ronaldo, which, if nothing else, should serve to make many of us suddenly feel very old. (more…)

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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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Will Hierro Be Spain’s Iron Man?

On the eve of their preparations for this Summer’s FIFA World Cup, Spain’s plans will have been thrown into disarray. Julen Lopetegui, who had only signed a new contract until 2020 as recently as May of this year, is no longer in charge of the nation which won the 2010 edition of the tournament.

The former Barcelona goalkeeper announced just two days before the first ball in Russia was kicked that he was going to take charge of Real Madrid for the start of next season. The only problem was that it was the first the Spanish FA had heard of it. (more…)

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