José has the squad to work his magic

LONDON: Although they won two major trophies last season, a sixth-placed Premier League finish cannot be heralded as a success for a club of Manchester United’s size and pedigree.

With the new season fast approaching, however, there is an air of optimism around Old Trafford with a squad now bearing the resemblance of one on which José Mourinho can work his magic.

Mourinho identified two key positions to strengthen in the close season. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goals needed replacing, long term, and in Romelu Lukaku, Mourinho has a direct, channel-running hitman with a scoring record to rival the very best.

Mourinho is not a possession-based coach. United strolled to Europa League glory against Ajax in May with under 31 percent of the ball.

Lukaku has the engine to make the runs for Paul Pogba to pick with his long, ranging passes on the counter, but can still act as that first line of defence to appease his cautious manager.

This United team now comes complete with Mourinho’s pièce de résistance from his summer transfer activity. Whether it was Costinha at Porto – a player Mourinho described as his “assistant coach on the pitch”, or Claude Makelele at Chelsea, that holding midfielder is the one Mourinho has built his teams around.

Nemanja Matic, who anchored Chelsea to Premier League glory under Mourinho in 2014-15, completed his move to United on Monday and Mourinho has his fulcrum once again.

“Nemanja represents everything we want in a footballer,” the manager said. – Reuters