Jose Mourinho is the third permanent manager in charge of Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, and both of his predecessors have bought in players with whom they were already familiar.

David Moyes signed Marouane Fellaini from Everton—a signing many United fans continue to bemoan. Louis van Gaal brought in Daley Blind and Memphis Depay whom he knew from the Netherlands national team, Bastian Schweinsteiger from Bayern Munich, Victor Valdes from Barcelona and Sergio Romero had been his goalkeeper at AZ Alkmaar.

Mourinho has a rich assortment of former players to choose from. His time at Inter Milan came to an end six years ago, and though United have been heavily linked with one of his charges from that period—more on that to follow—most of these names are from his two most recent clubs.

His tenure at Real Madrid ended in 2013 and there are plenty of players still performing at a high level whom he managed there. He also guided Chelsea to the 2014/15 Premier League title.

Unfortunately, Cristiano Ronaldo looks unlikely to be set for a reunion with either Mourinho or Old Trafford. The three-time Ballon d’Or winner told AS (h/t Sky Sports), “I am going to retire at Real Madrid at more than 40 years of age. I am very happy here and I work hard to achieve that.”

With Ronaldo ruled out, let’s take a look at some players Mourinho could bring along for his new Old Trafford ride.

 

Willian

One of the first former Mourinho players linked with United in the wake of his arrival was Chelsea’s Brazilian attacker Willian.

Shaun Custis of the Sun wrote on 25 May: “It is understood Willian, 27, would be keen to link up with his former boss again.” 

That may be, but it seems remarkably unlikely that Chelsea would be prepared to sell one of the few players who actually had a good season in 2015/16.

If they could somehow be persuaded, though, he would make an excellent addition to the United squad.

He played 30 league and European games on the right of a 4-2-3-1 last season, and right wing is certainly one of the positions United could do with strengthening. His five goals and six assists in the Premier League were added to by five goals and an assist in the UEFA Champions League. 

Per Custis, Willian said:

Jose is one of the most successful coaches in the world and Manchester United will be stronger with him as manager.

I played some of my best football under Mourinho. He is a special coach and I
have a great relationship with him.

Willian certainly never let his former manager down. He averaged 2.6 key passes per 90 minutes of Premier League football last season in a badly underperforming Chelsea side. That is considerably more than anyone in a United shirt managed. 

His direct style is shown in his dribbling statistics—he took on his man an average of 4.1 times per 90 minutes in the league, succeeding with 2.7 of those. Only Anthony Martial in the United side attempted more—6.2 per 90 minutes, succeeding with 2.9. 

Willian would add balance to United’s attack, but with no pressing reason for Chelsea to sell one of their few guaranteed performers, this one seems a long shot.

 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

A more likely arrival would seem to be Mourinho‘s former Inter charge, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

While the rumour mill is still mid-churn on the Swedish striker’s future, he will shortly be out of contract with Paris Saint-Germain and has been heavily linked with a move to United.

Mark Ogden of the Independent reported on Wednesday: 

Manchester United are ready to allow Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Paris Saint-Germain contract to expire on June 30 before securing the forward on a free transfer next month.

Ibrahimovic, 34, is set to become Jose Mourinho’s first signing at Old Trafford after positive talks between United and the player’s representative, Mino Raiola.

But with both Ibrahimovic and Raiola due to receive a lucrative loyalty bonus from PSG should he see out his contract at the Parc des Princes, United are prepared to wait until the Sweden captain officially becomes a free agent before formalising a one-year deal, with the option of a further 12 months, worth £250,000-a-week.

For more on what Ibrahimovic could bring to United, see here. 

 

Nemanja Matic

On Tuesday, Anthony Chapman of the Sun wrote: 

Chelsea star Nemanja Matic has told new boss Antonio Conte he wants to join Manchester United.

Jose Mourinho brought the Serb back to Stamford Bridge during his second spell with the Blues and is hoping to sign him again this summer.

Matic, unlike Willian, was one of those who attracted a good deal of criticism for his performances in Chelsea’s awful title defence in Mourinho‘s final season.

In SB Nation’s Chelsea blog, We Ain’t Got No History, David Pasztor wrote: 

It strikes me as rather crazy for Mourinho to dip into the Chelsea well for any of the players who so famously betrayed all his hard work this season, but things don’t always make sense in Silly Season. Matic struck a distinctly unhappy figure towards the end of the season, having dropped down in the pecking order behind John Obi Mikel, so perhaps it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him leave.

The 27-year old would be an interesting acquisition in terms of United’s existing midfielders. Given that Mourinho is likely to opt for a 4-2-3-1 in most games, Matic could line up alongside Morgan Schneiderlin in a combination that would provide a good deal of defensive solidity.

Michael Carrick could also feature in games where opponents were less likely to apply a lot of physical pressure, assuming he remains at the club. For all the veteran’s waning physical characteristics, the latter part of last season showed his eye for a pass remains.

What it would mean for the United futures of Ander Herrera, Fellaini, Schweinsteiger and even Wayne Rooney remains unclear.

In Chelsea’s title winning season, Matic made an enormous contribution. He made 3.7 of the 5.9 tackles he attempted per 90 minutes of league football. He added 2.1 interceptions per 90 minutes, a number which increased to 2.5 last season.

He also has a knack for carrying the ball out of defensive midfield into more attacking areas. He succeeded with 1.6 of the 2 dribbles he attempted on average per 90 minutes in the league in 14/15.

There are big questions to be asked, though, about how steeply his performances dropped off last season. Was his initial impact on re-entry to the Premier League some kind of fluke? Or were the travails of last season the exception to the rule?

Mourinho is probably better placed than anyone other than Matic himself to answer that question. If he is convinced that the Serbia international would help fortify Old Trafford, few would argue.

There are other players to consider, from a dream signing like Luka Modric to the nightmare of the potential arrival of John Terry—a perennial hate figure for United fans.

Mourinho has worked with some of the game’s greats. For now, in a way they were never able to do with Moyes and quickly lost the ability to do with Van Gaal, the United faithful will trust that the Special One knows what he is doing if he chooses arrange a Manchester reunion with any of his former players.

 

Advanced statistics per WhoScored.com.

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