Jose Mourinho has made no secret of his unhappiness regarding preseason preparations after much of his squad were involved in the World Cup. Players have been arriving back at different times and he is still to train with his whole squad. The team travelled to America with a squad where lots of younger players were drafted in, with Mourinho showing his frustration at the situation after the 4-1 loss to Liverpool.
Manchester United 0 – 1 Bayern Munich
Yesterday Mourinho’s depleted team took on Bayern Munich and lost 1-0 to a near first eleven team selection. Despite the defeat, the manager came out in praise for his team, saying: ‘The players were, once more brilliant. They could not have done better than what they did, a fantastic experience for the boys.” However, he could not hide his happiness that preseason is now over for Manchester United as he looks to welcome back the rest of his players.
Manchester United vs Leicester City – Friday 10 August at 8 pm
Manchester United play Leicester City at Old Trafford in the first match of the new Premier League campaign. So far Mourinho has completed the signings of Fred, Diogo Dalot and experienced back-up goalkeeper Lee Grant. He is hoping to get a few more signings completed before the deadline day, with Harry Maguire and Willian still being heavily linked with moves to the Red Devils.
Mourinho’s interviews over the last few weeks have hinted at frustration in the transfer market and he has been making comparisons to the transfer business of other teams, such as his comments “Liverpool are buying everything and everybody.” These are typical Mourinho tactics, adding some pressure to rival managers and teams and also giving the owners a reminder that he needs transfer funds to compete with the other teams.
The Next few days are crucial to the season
The next few days will be critical for Manchester United, as transfer negotiations could give their squad a timely boost. Welcoming back the World Cup players that reached the semi-final and final stages of the World Cup will also help to start shaping the team for the new season but Friday will probably be too soon for many of his players.
Martial could leave the club
Rashford, Lingard, Jones have now returned to training but Martial has been away from the squad after the birth of his child and Mourinho has fined him for not returning to the team afterwards. It seems Martial is hoping for a move away from Old Trafford, so that could be another transfer that takes place before the deadline. Darmian is another player keen on a move away as he had not featured much for United last season.