For the Club
What some would call the signing of the season, is not one of a player but Mourinho’s appointment as the new Manchester United coach. The straight talking, controversial boss has an impressive resume barring his last season at Chelsea, with 8 domestic league titles, two UEFA Champions league titles and a UEFA Europa cup and all this in 10 seasons of club management. Coming in after a “boring” Louis Van Gaal spell, the Portuguese manager is expected to lift spirits in the dressing room as well as the stands which the top level management at United failed to focus on this past season.
Ironically, having been his predecessor, LVG’s protégé at Barcelona, Mourinho advocates the same concept; The club is bigger than the player. This basically means that he has been compiling data and analysing his United squad long before his official appointment and already knows who is getting the axe and what recruits need to be signed. The previous 4 clubs allowed Mourinho to bring on his loyal staff of Rui Faria, Silvino Louro, Jose Morais and Carlos Lalin and this time should be no different. What his arrival means for Ryan Giggs, only time will tell as he is known for embracing club seniors on occasion and dismissing them on another.
For the Players
For the current squad, his appointment could mean a lot of things:
Defensively, Chris Smalling could find himself in a more secure centre back defensive role whereas players like Rojo and Blind could find themselves struggling to make the cut. His faith in Defensive solidarity and a strong physical core and a lone striker drives the team. In the center of the park he will look for a Matic-like figure in Bastian Schweinsteiger whereas players like Morgan Schneiderlin and Juan Mata have their future in doubt with the former having had previously fallen out with the incoming Portuguese. Ander Herrera could find himself being utilised more efficiently alongside Wayne Rooney who was once a top target for Mourinho.
He is known to keep his players close, one-on-one meetings and straight forward, sometimes unnerving conversations are all to be expected when you’re going in to work for the new United boss. Manchester United’s monetary abilities are just the tool he needs to develop a balanced squad and sign new talent. Talking about new players, Mourinho is said to have chalked up a shortlist of players he would like to employ at his new club, Zlatan Ibrahimovic being the frontrunner is followed by the likes of Namenja Matic, Joao Mario, Antoine Griezmann and Gonzalo Higuain to name a few.
