From praising Manchester United as a “Super big club” during his Chelsea tenure, to putting together a dossier explaining his usefulness to the club and finally getting the Manchester United appointment on Friday, it is safe to say that Jose Mourinho has worked very hard to get the Manchester United job.
The Portuguese has been at big clubs throughout his career, however, in the shape of Manchester United, Jose Mourinho has realized his wish of managing the club which he defeated in the Champions League quarter-final in 2004.
However, if the short tenure of Louis Van Gaal at Old Trafford tells us something, Mourinho won’t find this job easy. In addition to seeing off the whole season without Champions League and with the Europa League, the Portuguese has to carry the burden of the succession of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Thus, while this is a huge job with lots of perks and privileges, it could be anything but easy even for “The Special One”.
Here are 3 positions Jose Mourinho need to strengthen at Manchester United …
1. Centre-back
If we could figure out one reason for the failure of Jose Mourinho at Chelsea last season, the absence of commanding central defenders would be one.
In the 16 matches during which Mourinho was their manager this season, Chelsea conceded 26-goals only in the League.
Thus, this is one of the many reasons why Jose Mourinho is now at the Old Trafford.
Turning our attention to Manchester United and although defensive stats paint an assuring picture – they conceded just 35-goals in 38 games, this was down to the mentality of Louis Van Gaal rather than the defensive prowess of his defenders.
The Dutchman built a team which was designed to defend, hence, it was the only thing where Manchester United were good at during his tenure.
While the protégé of Van Gaal also knows a thing or two about parking the bus, Mourinho’s teams are always known for their counter-attacking football.
As a result, if Mourinho wants to start his Manchester United career on a positive note, signing a center back should be his priority.
2. Defensive Midfielder
Ever since the departure of Paul Scholes with Sir Alex in 2013, the Red Devils have faced a shortage of options in their defensive midfield department.
Credits to Van Gaal that he tried to solve that problem by bringing in Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger but both of those failed to inspire the Old Trafford faithful.
While one of the two is past his prime, the other hasn’t shown the capacity to disrupt the attacks on the opposition.
As a result, on too many occasions last season, the Manchester United defenders were exposed way too many times last season.
Thus, be it in the form of a less spectacular Kante or a headline-earning Ilkay Gundogan, Jose Mourinho need to fill the void in the Manchester United midfield.
3. Winger
If the recent history of Jose Mourinho is to be taken as an example, Juan Mata would have packed his bags by now.
The mutual hatred between the duo is well documented and with Memphis Depay out of form and Jesse Lingard too young for Mourinho’s liking, the Portuguese might need to go in the transfer market for a winger.
