Patrick Rees
Jose Mourinho has warned the likes of Eric Bailly and Phil Jones about the abilities of new signing Victor Lindelof and has said that the duo should not consider themselves as automatic starters for the upcoming fixtures.
The Sweden international completed his £31million move to Manchester United this summer but is yet to play a Premier League game for the club. He did start United’s pre-season fixtures, but with him failing to impress the gaffer, he was left out in every of Premier League fixture of Man United.
Then came United’s all-important game against Real Madrid – UEFA Super Cup. With Baily and Jones suspended, Mourinho decided to go with Smalling and Lindelof at the back and the duo literally dwindled against a fiery Real Madrid unit.
Since the start of the new Premier League campaign, Mourinho has been playing Eric Bailly with Phil Jones at the heart of the defence and the pair has been rock solid throughout, barring the recent 2-2 draw against Stoke. In their opening three games, United kept three clean sheets but the wall dimmed against an all-confident Stoke City team.
It was the Potters who opened the scoring and it was all down to poor marking. United, however, did manage to take the lead, but Stoke found a way back – courtesy of Phil Jones’ inability to remain firm while defending a corner. Next up were FC Basel. With both Bailly and Jones unavailable, Mourinho opted to go with Smalling and Lindelof.
Lindelof had a decent outing, if not something extraordinary. Much of it can be put down to the lack of game time in recent weeks but the signs are good.
United’s interest in Lindelof this summer wasn’t a surprise given the fact that they already enquired about the Swede back in winter transfer. Benfica, however, were reluctant to lose him midway through the season, and the defender decided to stay put and ended up signing a new contract. All this though, didn’t stop United from making a move for him, as Mourinho was aware of Lindelof’s qualities.
Jose Mourinho seems to be aware of what he has in his hands, and praised the Swedish centre-half. He was quoted by Metro,
“Victor is a very good player with very good potential. And honestly, I think there are reasons for the other boys, Eric and Jones, to be worried.”
This is getting intense. Two centre-halves who have put in a great shift since the start of the season have been warned and our summer signing is being given confidence here. Talk about man-management!
All in all, our players are being managed in the right way and I am sure they’ll all give their best week in week out, by not letting complacency creep in.
Jose, you beauty!
