The Jose Mourinho era is set to officially kick-off with Manchester United’s pre-season friendly against Championship club Wigan Athletic. Ahead of the match, United captain Wayne Rooney spoke out about working with the new manager.
England’s highest ever goal scorer Wayne Rooney, was roped in by legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson from Everton in 2004. Since the Scotsman’s retirement in 2013, Rooney has worked under his immediate successor David Moyes and the Iron Tulip Louis van Gaal. The Man United captain is now preparing for the tenure of his fourth manager at Old Trafford in Jose Mourinho.
Ahead of Mourinho’s first game in charge of the Red Devils, Rooney expressed his excitement to work under the two-time Champions League winning manager.
“I like to think I’m always motivated as a player but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit more motivated when a new manager comes in. I’m sure all the lads will be happy to be working under José and also eager to impress,” Rooney said, according to the Guardian.
“I’m really excited to be working with José this season as he’s one of the best managers in the world. And it’s an exciting time for Manchester United.
“I’ve always respected him both as a man and a manager, he’s a nice guy and one of the most successful managers of all time. I’ve played against many Mourinho sides over the years and I can’t remember any easy games, so I think that says it all. His teams are always hard to beat, tactically disciplined and, most importantly, successful.”
The Englishman added that one of the biggest assets the Portuguese would bring with him was experience and a history of success, which he hoped would manifest themselves during his tenure at Old Trafford.
Mourinho tells Manchester United players that those outside of core squad can leave
Jose Mourinho won his last Premier League title with Chelsea in 2014-15 using a total of just 22 players over the course of the season. He is now looking to implement the same principle at Manchester United. He has informed all the United players that he will be focusing on a 24 player squad, and those who do not manage to get into that group are free to leave or train with the under-21 team, according to the Daily Mail.
This is a meteoric drop from the 33 players that Louis van Gaal used last season. Mourinho thinks that number is far too much to properly organize the players and develop team spirit. Therefore, while Premier League clubs are allowed to name a 25 player squad as well as under-21 players, the special one will name a 24 player squad and relegate the rest to the junior team or encourage them to leave.
Three big name signings in Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have already arrived at Old Trafford, while the club have been heavily linked with Juventus star Paul Pogba and PSG defensive midfielder Blaise Matuidi.
The Manchester United manager is now preparing to trim down the squad to accommodate the new players. While four players including former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes have already been released, there are a number of squad members who are expected to be listed on the transfer window in the coming weeks.
Established international players like Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Juan Mata and Bastian Schweinsteiger are reportedly not part of Mourinho’s future plans at Manchester United, while the young defensive duo of Tyler Blackett and Guillermo Varela are also rumored to be on the chopping list. There is also considerable doubt over the futures of other misfiring stars like Memphis Depay and Adnan Januzaj.
