Jose Mourinho hasn’t yet taken over at Manchester United, but discord may already be growing within the Red Devils’ locker room over his potential presence.

On Sunday, the Daily Mail‘s Sami Mokbel reported some senior members of United have doubts as to whether the Special One should succeed Louis van Gaal as manager:

Certain members of the squad feel Mourinho will adopt a pragmatic approach at Old Trafford similar to Van Gaal‘s much maligned tactics.

Privately, a number of United’s players grew agitated at what they perceived as the Dutchman’s negativity and want a more attacking manager.

There are also fears that Mourinho‘s tendency to stay in a job for no longer than four years will be counter-productive.

The club has yet to officially sack Van Gaal, but the Dutchman seemed to indicate his departure is on the horizon, per Sky Sports Football:

The club denied Van Gaal was talking about his future with the Red Devils, per Mark Critchley of the Independent. Still, Mourinho is widely expected to be Van Gaal‘s replacement, and BBC Sport’s Dan Roan and Simon Stone reported Saturday the Portuguese manager has agreed in principle to terms on a contract with United.

It’s not hard to see why some United players would be skeptical as to whether Mourinho is the man to take the club forward. Whereas he left Inter Milan triumphant, his stint with Real Madrid and his return to Chelsea both ended in ignominy.

Writing in December about Mourinho‘s departure from Stamford Bridge, ESPN FC’s Miguel Delaney pinpointed what could be two significant issues for the manager going forward:

A number of people close to Chelsea say that one reason Mourinho never formed the unbreakable bond with the current players that he did with the 2005 generation of Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard was because he was never as attuned to the millennials, those born from 1990 on and who came up through modern youth academies. He wanted angry aggression from players never suited to angry aggression, even though he had forensically restructured the squad.

A further problem was that the early part of 2014-15 aside, Mourinho kept playing the same style of football in a new era. It’s difficult to overstate just how influential Barcelona’s appointment of Guardiola (rather than Mourinho) was in the context of the global game. It changed the sport and caused the spread of attacking football again. Average goals per game in the Champions League shot up from 2.5 to 2.9.

Van Gaal is the perfect example of how even the most decorated and tactically astute managers can fall victim to the changing trends. The possession-based approach he used to great success at Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich looked outmoded at Old Trafford.

Similarly, Mourinho‘s defense-first mindset restricted many of Chelsea’s attacking players in 2015-16, most notably Eden Hazard, who had questioned Mourinho‘s tactics as far back as May 2014 while speaking to beIN Sports (h/t Sky Sports).

Mourinho attempted to bring a more creative style to Chelsea during his second run but ultimately fell back into old habits, and it led to his downfall.

As if that’s not enough to give United some reservations, Mourinho‘s arrival might also come at the cost of Ryan Giggs. The Sun‘s Neil Ashton and Neil Custis reported Giggs might turn down any offer by Mourinho to stay on as a coach at the club. Giggs’ departure could be a big blow, especially for those inside the club who feel he, not Mourinho, should replace Van Gaal.

Mourinho could reinvent himself and bring Old Trafford a run of titles not seen since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, or his hiring could accelerate Manchester United’s stagnation. Either way, Mourinho at United would be guaranteed to deliver plenty of drama.

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