After days of confusion and speculation, Manchester United’s sacking of Dutch coach Louis van Gaal has finally been made official. The writing had been on the wall for a while now for Louis van Gaal although he seemed to be ignorant of the fact till his final press conference after winning the FA Cup. He left on a positive note, winning the FA Cup in his last game as manager of Manchester United.
Jose Mourinho is expected to take over at Manchester United, bringing sweeping changes to the way things are run at the club. Mourinho prefers a certain type of footballer and those which do not fit the profile will be shown the door.
While the fans and most of the squad should be excited for the arrival of Mourinho, a few players will be dreading his arrival. We list the players who will be dreading Mourinho’s arrival at Chelsea.
#1 Juan Mata
Juan Mata will be forgiven for considering what the future has in store for him after Louis van Gaal was sacked. The diminutive Spaniard has a history with Jose Mourinho and will be feeling a tinge of deja vu at the moment. Mata had been frozen out of the Chelsea squad by Mourinho in spite of him being two-time Player of the Year at the club the previous two season. Mata left the club after just 8 months of playing under the Portuguese.
Mata is known for his blogs and a fan favourite at Manchester United with his friendly behavior.The Spaniard is not capable of the defensive work expected by Mourinho of his midfielders and is too slow to play as a winger in Mourinho’s system.
Mourinho is known to be ruthless with players who have difficulty adapting to his system and does not waste time in getting rid of them. Mata was one of the victims of Mourinho’s “my way or the highway” approach at Chelsea and might be frozen out again.
#2 Daley Blind
The versatile Dutch international was brought in by Louis van Gaal in his first transfer window at Manchester United and looked at ease with the possession football implemented by the Dutchman at United. He has earned the reputation of a utility-man, featuring at left back, center back as well as central midfield under Louis van Gaal.
While Blind is adaptable and can play numerous positions, he might not be able to guarantee himself a first team spot under Mourinho. The 25-year old is not a natural centre-back and has too much competition from Luke Shaw at left fullback. Blind also lacks the dynamism that Jose Mourinho expects from his midfielders to play in defensive midfield.
While Blind is versatile enough to play in numerous positions, Mourinho is likely to have better options to play in those positions with United likely to reinforce their defence and midfield which will result in the utility man seeing reduced minutes on the pitch.
#3 Ashley Young
The 31-year old winger has been a passenger at Old Trafford after having a mini-renaissance in Manchester United’s mid-season purple patch in 2015. Under Louis van Gaal, his form has coincided with that of Manchester United and after being played out of position on numerous occasions, Mourinho’s arrival might finally sound the death knell the Englishman.
The winger has featured as a left and right full-back, a midfielder, a winger and surprisingly, as a striker as Anthony Martial stayed on the pitch playing as a left winger. Young has mostly appeared as a substitute and as a backup when first teamers have been injured. The ex-Villan has put in a lot of effort when given the opportunity but does not have enough fear factor as a winger.
Mourinho is famous for not tolerating any slacking or below-par players in his squad. In spite of his hard-working qualities, Young is not good enough in any of the positions to be a guaranteed starter and will be considering his options if Mourinho does arrive.
#5 Phil Jones
It is difficult to believe that Phil Jones is still only 24 years old. He has been at Old Trafford for what seems to be an eternity. Signed by Sir Alex Ferguson from Blackburn Rovers in 2011, he was described by the legendary manager as, “Arguably, the way he is looking, he could be our best ever player."
He has scarcely lived up to expectations at Manchester United, more recognised for the faces he pulls while playing rather than his defending. Jones has missed large chunks of his Old Trafford career with injury issues and seems to get injured as soon as he returns from a lengthy spell out for the Red Devils.
For all his undoubted talent, Phil Jones has failed to impress on the pitch. With Mourinho’s disdain for inconsistency, Jones will have to step up his game and ensure that he is able to stay fit enough to start for the club. Failure to accomplish this could result in an anti-climatic exit for a player who was destined for great things.
#5 Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford has made his mark on the senior squad this season after being promoted from the youth set up due to a deluge of injuries in the first team. He has scored 8 goals in 18 appearances for the club and has kept out the likes of Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial from their favoured striker position.
While Rashford was given ample opportunity to perform under Louis van Gaal, it is not likely he will be afforded similar chances with Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese prefers to have experienced strikers. Diego Costa was in fact his youngest striker at Chelsea, aged 25 and this is not a good sign for Marcus Rashford, who has just earned his first England call-up.
Mourinho does not have a reputation of developing young players, preferring to rely on experienced stars to carry out his instructions and Rashford will be hoping he can impress Mourinho despite the odds.
