Jose Mourinho has revealed the kind of players he would like to sign at Manchester United in the upcoming summer window.
The Portuguese signed the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly last summer, who have had a good season with Manchester United. Mourinho is known to back players with a strong personality and it was evident as to why he brought in Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Old Trafford.
Speaking about his squad, Mourinho insisted that he’s looking for players to form a core at the club.
He was quoted by Mirror: “From a psychological point of view, the stronger the empathy is in our squad, the more consistent the relationship is between the players, and the more ready you are. The ‘mind game’ which involves trying to manipulate someone psychologically via the media, is a way of creating a state of mind, but one that is most effective when you have a team full of personalities and one that is ready to absorb this sort of talk.”
He added: “At Inter, I was like a fish in water in this domain. I had [Marco] Materazzi, [Ivan] Cordoba, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [Diego] Milito, Thiago Motta… guys who were willing to follow me everywhere. The priority is to establish relationships founded on peace and love in the squad, to create stability. Manchester United no longer has the super personalities of [Ryan] Giggs, [Paul] Scholes or Roy Keane.”
He also spoke about Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick and said that the two players are the final two players left in the old generation of stars with a strong mentality.
Mourinho continued: “There is still [Wayne] Rooney and [Michael] Carrick, who are the final faces of that generation, and a new group of players must adapt. That is why it was important for me to bring in Zlatan. In this team, he had, without being English, without knowing the culture of the club, the personality and the fit to be more than just a simple player.”
Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick have enjoyed a limited role under Jose and it is widely expected that the two legends may leave the club at the end of the season.
In the case of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he has been the kind of player Manchester United has been missing since the Fergie era. However, it looks like the Red Devils are heading in the right direction under Jose Mourinho.