New Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is set to bring about a change at Old Trafford, and will reportedly offload two former World Cup winners in Bastian Schweinsteiger and Juan Mata.
According to the Daily Record (h/t ESPN), Schweinsteiger and Mata are the biggest names on Mourinho’s list to be shown the door at Old Trafford. The other names mentioned are those of defenders Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo. The Portuguese wants to trim the dysfunctional squad he inherited from his predecessor as he plans to bring specialists to the fray.
Juan Mata joined David Moyes’ United squad for a then club-record fee of £37.2 million, and brought about an immediate impact at the club. It was Jose Mourinho who let go of the Spaniard during his time at Stamford Bridge and by the looks of things, history may repeat itself.
Mourinho had concerns about the attacking midfielder’s pace and physicality while at Chelsea, and believed that he would get bullied when his side were against tougher opposition. His defensive contribution too seemed to be below par for the Portuguese manager, who deemed the 25-year-old surplus, making a significant profit on his sale thereafter. However, if he is to be offloaded this time around, he would fetch far less a price than he did 2 years ago.
Bastian Schweinsteiger was bought in the summer of 2015 for a fee reported to be in the region of £15 million. While the German midfield supremo managed to win over a bunch of the Old Trafford faithful, his performances on the field haven’t been too impressive. Schweinsteiger was 30 when he moved to Manchester and in his first season at the club, he managed to make only 13 starts as he was injured for a majority of the 15/16 campaign. Much like Mata, his lack of pace and inability to play in multiple positions may see Mourinho relieve Manchester United of his services.
Marcus Rojo was signed for an estimated fee of €20 million after an impressive showing with Argentina at the 2014 World Cup. Rojo enjoyed a decent first season, but wore off during his second term at United. Constant injury worries saw the Argentine miss out on many big games for the Red Devils and even the games he did feature, he was played out of position as a left-back.
Daley Blind was arguably one of United’s best players last season, so his reported exit seems baffling. The Dutchman has performed well in a number of positions and could be an ideal fit in Mourinho’s system. However, due to his lack of pace and lack of aerial prowess, he may be deemed surplus to the Portuguese’s plans at Old Trafford.
Given United’s heavy financial muscle, Mourinho may not hesitate in spending big to replace these outgoing players, and within the next few weeks a major squad overhaul may be on the cards.
