Mourinho has need to keep hold of heritage
THEY may make him tear his hair out at times, but Jose Mourinho has always maintained he has never worked with a group he likes as much as this United squad.
Is it any wonder, then, that there has been so few departures since the Portuguese arrived in Manchester nearly two-and-a-half years ago?
Since Mourinho took charge, 18 players with first-team experience have left the club: Victor Valdes, Nick Powell, Paddy McNair, Donald Love, Tyler Blackett, Will Keane, James Weir, Morgan Schneiderlin, Memphis, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Josh Harrop, Wayne Rooney, Adnan Januzaj, Guillermo Varela, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (twice), Sam Johnstone and Daley Blind.
That may seem a sizable number, but scratch a little deeper and only Rooney, Blind, Mkhitaryan and Ibrahimovic played more than eight games under Mourinho. They were the significant departures – even if Schneiderlin, Memphis et al raised more money through sales.
Mourinho has always said he will only let players go if they ask to leave and United get a suitable offer. That is why Matteo Darmian, for example, is still on the club’s books despite wanting to return to Italy.
The days of ‘churning,’ as Ed Woodward once put it, are over and United are hoping to extend the contracts of Ashley Young, Ander Herrera and Juan Mata in the coming months. Others will follow.
It would hardly be a surprise if they also took up the option of triggering the one-year extension on Antonio Valencia’s deal – even if the skipper has not played since October 2.
At the very least, that is an insurance policy when it comes to re-sale value, but it is not United’s style to extend a player’s contract and then sell him on. They are also keen to hold on to experienced players at a time when this young squad are still learning.
It is worth remembering that in the past 18 months alone, United have lost the priceless on-field leadership of Ibrahimovic, Rooney and Michael Carrick – who won a combined 67 trophies during glittering careers.
Veterans who could guide the club’s younger players as Ibrahimovic remembers.
“I miss all of them. I had a fantastic time at United,” he said. “Wazza, Michael Carrick, then the young guys that wanted to show the world who they are by playing football and they had a lot of hunger to show. I had a good time because I got to know everyone, I was the mature guy with all these guys who were not mature. Paul Pogba, I had never played with him before and I didn’t know him as a person. We have the same management and when I got to know him I got to find a fantastic person and a fantastic footballer, but someone who needs to be guided.”
That is why United are reluctant to follow the City model.
In Pep Guardiola’s second summer at the club, for example, five veterans left the Etihad on free transfers.
All the while, City kept hold of the title-winning experience of Vincent Kompany, Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Fernandinho and Yaya Toure.
‘Football heritage’ as Mourinho put it. It explains a lot.