Ronald de Boer has warned that Jose Mourinho is likely to opt for experience over youth when he is finally appointed as Manchester United manager and said the Portuguese’s appointment “will be not so good” for the Red Devils’ young players.

Per BBC Sport, Mourinho is widely expected to be installed as United boss very soon following Louis van Gaal’s sacking on Monday after the Dutchman failed to secure UEFA Champions League football for next season.

Van Gaal did win the FA Cup, though, and brought through some exciting youth-team players like Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard.

However, De Boer—who played under his compatriot at Ajax and Barcelona—is concerned United’s youngsters will be sidelined under Mourinho, per Riath Al-Samarrai in the Daily Mail:

Mourinho is a manager who goes straight for “arrived” players, experienced players, who can directly fulfil that job. For some young players that will be not so good.

Rashford now showed he will get a chance and he is with the national team. He will get a chance for sure. But maybe Mourinho will think, “OK, Rashford, nice, but I need an experienced one also with him”. And then the experienced one will play and Rashford won’t play.

That will be critical, of course, for his career, and he must make it so difficult not to drop him. For some youngsters, it will be interesting.

Rashford only made his first-team debut back in February and subsequently went on to net eight goals in 18 matches in all competitions, per WhoScored.com.

He has earned a call-up to Roy Hodgson’s provisional England squad for Euro 2016, and he is likely to be given a chance to prove himself under Mourinho given that he has already shown he can perform to a high level.

However, there is still some scepticism as to how Rashford will fare, per ESPN FC’s Iain Macintosh:

A Champions League, La Liga and Eredivisie winner as a player, De Boer was part of Van Gaal’s Barca team when Mourinho was on the coaching staff at the Camp Nou.

Despite his warnings about the 53-year-old, he does rate Mourinho as a top coach and believes he will get results at United, per Al-Samarrai:

Mourinho is very good. He can shape a team and go straight for results. He is like Van Gaal, a workaholic and prepares perfectly and knows how to win. Sometimes it is not pretty but he knows how to grind out wins. That is what you get.

The only thing I worry about is can it have an effect on the academy players? People love to see their own youth coming up and being the local hero. And that is the risk when you take Mourinho.

Van Gaal’s sacking had been inevitable for some time as his ponderous playing style became hugely unpopular with the Old Trafford faithful and failure to qualify for Champions League football always seemed like the final straw.

However, the manner of his dismissal has been questioned—widespread rumours emerged almost immediately after United secured the FA Cup win that he would be sacked—and De Boer believes a manager of Van Gaal’s stature deserved better, per Al-Samarrai:

From a human point of view it is bad after winning the FA Cup you hear you get fired. It is not the way you should do it but football teams are big money companies.

It is not the (best way to) tell a manager with quite a decent history. He deserves more respect in that sense. It is not the nice way to finish your career.

Everyone saw it coming. You know if you are coaching one of the biggest clubs in the world you get a lot of stick if it doesn’t go well. He didn’t really get it going and he knows that also.

Mourinho’s imminent appointment has been hailed up to a point by many as he is all but guaranteed to engineer an improvement in results, but concerns do remain, many of which De Boer has picked up on, per the Times‘ Henry Winter: 

United legend Eric Cantona expressed concerns about the style of football Mourinho will introduce, saying the former Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and FC Porto boss “is not Manchester United,” per Owen Gibson in the Guardian.

Meanwhile, the Times‘ Matthew Syed warned against appointing Mourinho, as his infamous off-field antics “could contaminate the club’s reputation.”

However, it now seems inevitable that Mourinho will be United manager at the start of next season, and there are certainly positives to the appointment, not least the profile of player he will be able to attract.

United’s lack of Champions League football next season could have put off top stars joining in the summer, but Mourinho’s presence should be able to attract a world-class striker—like Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Gonzalo Higuain—a necessary purchase, per Bleacher Report’s Dean Jones and Sam Tighe:

It is set to be a fascinating and eventful tenure for Mourinho at United when he is finally appointed as, while his methods may not be to everyone’s tastes, he is rarely boring.

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