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Chile international Alexis Sanchez has said that Manchester United are the biggest club in England, and he has joined them in order to win everything. The 29-year-old signed for the Red Devils from Arsenal last month in a straight exchange deal involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes believes Jose Mourinho should take the decision to axe Alexis Sanchez from the starting line-up after the Chilean put in a poor showing against Sevilla in the Champions League on Tuesday night. The 29-year-old struggled to find a consistency to his play through the game, and he ultimately cut a frustrated figure as the Red Devils bowed of the elite competition by a 2-1 aggregate scoreline.
Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has revealed that Alexis Sanchez’s demanding mentality did not infuse well with some of his teammates. The Chile international was alleged to have had a confrontation with Laurent Koscielny during the backend of last season, and he had a similar case with other players prior to his winter exit.
Romelu Lukaku made headlines when he signed for Manchester United for a fee of around £ 70 million, which could rise to up to £ 90 million. He also had an excellent start to his career at Old Trafford after managing several goals in his first few matches. Of late, however, the Belgian international has struggled for goals and has only come up with four in the last 19 matches. He was also criticised for his performances in the games against Manchester City. Jose Mourinho has completely defended his player during this course of form, and his latest explanation is that the striker is tired after having been involved in a lot of matches.
Lukaku has played 1800 minutes of action so far in the Premier league. This is in line with most of the goalkeepers in the league, and it tops the list for most of the outfield players in the lineup. While acknowledging the fact that Lukaku has already played in a lot of games, Mourinho has admitted that he cannot afford to rest of the 24-year-old due to the list of important games coming up for the team. United are already finding themselves 15 points adrift of Manchester City and cannot afford to drop any more points if they are to at least think about winning the league title. Further, there is the pressure from the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool behind them.
Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku has responded to criticism over his recent goalscoring in all competitions. The Belgium international joined the Red Devils from Everton last summer, and he has since cemented a regular spot in the starting line-up.
Lukaku started the campaign in fine fashion with 11 goals in just 10 matches, but the month of October brought no joy as he failed to score in six appearances. Despite his lean streak, Jose Mourinho has recently insisted that the Belgian’s position is ‘untouchable’ and Lukaku has now come forward to answer his critics.
Jose Mourinho has taken Manchester United from securing the 6th spot in his debut season at the helm (and getting that all important Champion’s League spot in what was an underwhelming campaign for the Portuguese coach) to being genuine title contenders. Even though the English Premier League appeared to be very far away from Mourinho, he still managed to lift the EFL Cup, FA Community Shield and the UEFA Europa League in 2016-17.
In a season that is generally considered to be forgettable at least in the standards of Jose Mourinho, the Portuguese coach was still able to add numerous pieces of silverware to his collection and significantly helped in getting Manchester United back to their former elite status that they have been attempting to do for the past years.
Manchester United could reportedly replace Juan Mata with Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil next summer, James Robson has claimed.
Ozil, 28, has less than nine months on his current Arsenal deal, and recent reports have suggested that he could prefer a move to the Red Devils at the end of the campaign. In response to this, Manchester Evening News reporter Robson has suggested that Jose Mourinho could sacrifice Mata in order to reunite with the Germany international.
He said: “I can’t believe Mourinho actually ever got on with him at Real Madrid, but he was highly thought of. He’s also been very good, but as seasons have gone by, it’s become a thing he’s gone missing. For the majority of his time, he’s been one of the few genuinely world-class players around the Premier League. If he’s free that changes everything. Maybe you could sell Juan Mata. I don’t see how you could have Mata, Mkhitaryan and Ozil in the same team. He’s sold Mata once before so maybe if he got Ozil, he’d sell him again.”
Former Manchester United graduate Danny Higginbotham feels Manchester United made a mistake selling the likes of Michael Keane and Jonny Evans during Louis van Gaal’s reign at Old Trafford.
Whilst United are currently in a good stead under Jose Mourinho, Higginbotham believes United were wrong to offload Keane and Evans as they could have evolved into instrumental players for the club. Keane never got his chance to impress under Van Gaal, and he was loaned out to Burnley in September 2014, before sealing his permanent move a couple of months later.
The England international has since moved on to Everton for around £30m, and he looks set to play a pivotal role in their progress under Ronald Koeman. Meanwhile, Evans was offloaded to Tony Pulis’ West Bromwich Albion back in the summer of 2015, and he has since been identified as one of the most consistent centre-backs in the division.
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has dismissed suggestions that Galatasaray are close to signing Marouane Fellaini this summer.
Galatasaray sporting director CenkUrgun recently told the press that the club would be pushing through a deal for Fellaini with the midfield enforcer heading through the Old Trafford exit door, he said: “There will be surprises, we are in talks with Fellaini. We have made an approach, we are close and if we get Fellaini we will end our pursuit of N’Diaye. We need a player like Fellaini who can shuttle around in midfield.”
However, following the Valerenga game, Mourinho has maintained his stance that Fellaini is not for sale while insisting the Turkish giants have a better chance of signing him than the Belgian in terms of probability, he said: “It’s easier for Galatasaray to get me than Marouane. If they need a manager, they have a chance, but Marouane? Forget it. He is too important to me.”
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed that defensive trio Luke Shaw, Ashley Young and Marcus Rojo will miss the start of the new campaign.
The Red Devils have won all three of their pre-season games in convincing fashion including the 2-0 victory over rivals Manchester City on Wednesday, but Mourinho is still eager to add at least one signing to his ranks with the midfield, in particular, in need of strengthening ahead of the 2017/18 season.
Prior to United’s pre-season game against Real Madrid, Mourinho delivered an injury update on his players, where he clarified that Shaw, Young and Rojo would all miss the start of the Premier League season next month. Out of the three, however, Shaw could be the earliest to return to first-team action while Rojo could be the lengthier absentee as he continues to recover from a serious knee injury.
