Tottenham have never been a club afraid to enter into the transfer market. 

Even with their recent reticence to spend heavily, Spurs have brought in at least five first-team players in each of the last five summers. 

Having qualified for the Champions League with a talented but not especially deep squad, it is inevitable that Tottenham will be busy once again this year. 

With the additional wrinkle of the Premier League’s surging broadcast deals, Spurs are a rich target for transfer rumours. 

Despite the deluge of newspaper talk, Tottenham are unlikely to make any serious moves before the summer’s two major tournaments are concluded. 

With that in mind, we have time for a little fun, so we’re going to select a full team of players already linked with the club. 

Goalkeeper

Hugo Lloris is unquestionably secure as Spurs’ No. 1, so there are relatively few articles linking new custodians to White Hart Lane. 

England Under-21 goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is an exception. The Sunderland academy graduate has been widely tipped to win senior honours in the future and would be an excellent back-up for Lloris. What he lacks in current reserve Michel Vorm’s experience, he makes up for in potential. 

According to the Sunderland Echo, via the Daily Star, Spurs will battle Manchester United for Pickford’s signature over the summer. 

Left-back

Hull City‘s academy player of the year Josh Tyman has been linked with both Tottenham and Arsenal, per Peter O’Rourke of ESPN. 

Yet to make a Football League appearance, the England under-17 international has been playing with the club’s under-21s and is expected to break out next season. 

This could be a realistic move for Spurs to make, likely with a loan back to Hull for 2016/17. 

Defence 

Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed Tottenham are keeping watch on Lyon’s Samuel Umtiti and, according to Sport, via IBTimes.co.uk, he could be available for £15.5 million. 

Umtiti scored an astonishing goal for Lyon against Spurs in a Europa League match in 2013, but the Cameroon-born youngster’s qualities at the other end of the pitch have sparked widespread European interest. 

According to Ed Malyon of the Mirror, Lyon would prefer to sell Umtiti abroad rather than strengthen PSG, who are also interested. However, that would mean Daniel Levy and Jean-Michel Aulas entering into negotiations for the first time since Spurs’ acrimonious acquisition of Hugo Lloris. 

According to Bild (h/t Sport Witness, via Here Is The City), Werder Bremen‘s gigantic defender Jannik Vestergaard has been identified as an option for Tottenham. 

The gargantuan Dane would give Spurs a very different option in a back line that, while very strong, lacks height. His physicality would complement the more athletic Umtiti.  

The combination of the left-footed Umtiti and right-sided Vestergaard also gives our Transfer XI happy balance. 

Right-back

Spurs have two quality options at right-back in Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier. This means rumours linking them to new players in that position have been thin on the ground. 

With that in mind, Bolton’s England under-21 centre back Rob Holding will be selected out of position. 

Holding was a rare bright spot for the Trotters this season and, according to the Daily Star, is one of the best players in England outside the top division. 

The Sun, via SBNation, says Arsenal are Holding’s preferred destination, but Spurs have also been linked to his signature (h/t Here Is The City).

Bolton are so keen to sell that, according to Liam Corless of the Mirror, they dropped Holding on the final day of the Championship season to avoid potential injury.

Midfield 

Villarreal’s star midfielder Denis Suarez is set to return to Barcelona this summer as the Blaugrana exercise a buy-back clause, but he is likely to move swiftly on, and Tottenham have reportedly joined the race to sign him, via James Cambridge of the Express.

Suarez was a revelation alongside former Spurs forward Roberto Soldado and will give our Transfer XI the creative spark in the middle. 

Another creative option for this team is Dinamo Zagreb’s diminutive playmaker Ante Coric. The Croatian has been recently scouted by Spurs, according to Simon Jones of the Daily Mail, and comparisons with David Silva have understandably piqued their interest. 

Given that Spurs’ Transfer XI is a fantasy team, they’ll be playing fantasy football with Inter Milan‘s Marcelo Brozovic completing the midfield three.  

Tutto Mercato Web, via Here is the City, says the creative Croatian is of interest to numerous Premier League clubs, but Spurs lead the chase. 

Attack 

Liverpool winger Jordon Ibe is pacy, skillful and young enough to develop beyond his current limited level. 

Having stagnated on Merseyside, the Charlton youth product could be interested in a return to London. 

According to the Liverpool Echo, via the Express, Liverpool are willing to sell Ibe this summer, and Spurs are among the interested clubs. 

Barcelona’s release of La Masia graduate Sandro Ramirez has sparked speculation that Tottenham will return for their apparent winter target. He was reportedly set to cost the club £3 million in January, but that deal never materialised. 

Sandro and Ibe can swap wings as they play in support of our Transfer XI striker. 

In a Tottenham Transfer XI, there can only be two options at centre forward: Michy Batshuayi and Saido Berahino, two of the most heavily-linked players in the club’s history. 

Simon Jones of the Daily Mail says Pochettino remains interested in both, but there can only be one in our lineup. 

Berahino‘s value has plummeted following his failed summer move to Spurs, and he could reportedly be available for as little as £7 million, per David Kent of the Daily Mail. Alternatively, Batshuayi has enjoyed a stellar season and could cost as much as £38 million, according to Jack Atchinson of Sky Sports. 

While Batshuayi is definitely the preferred option among Tottenham fans, this XI will go for the Premier League-proven Berahino. 

The Burundi-born England youth international has 23 goals in England’s top flight at just 22 years old. He caps off a fine Tottenham Transfer XI. 

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Jose Mourinho has reportedly already called Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea and assured him “he would win trophies” in a bid to persuade him to stay at Old Trafford.

Per BBC Sport, Mourinho’s appointment as United manager—and Louis van Gaal’s successor—is imminent, and he is likely to get straight to work on overhauling the Red Devils’ struggling squad.

It is vital that he keeps hold of De Gea—he is arguably the only world-class player in the current United squad—and Mourinho reportedly already “rang the stopper to ask him to stay” and “to ignore the lure of Real Madrid,” per the Sun (via Jamie Anderson in the Daily Star).

Only a deadline-day collapse prevented a deal going through last summer that would have seen De Gea join Spanish giants Real.

And though the Spain international subsequently signed a new four-year deal with United, Real reportedly still have until June 15 to trigger a release clause which could see De Gea leave Old Trafford this summer for £39 million, per AS (via Anderson).

It was previously reported by Bleacher Report’s Dean Jones that De Gea, 25, would leave United should Van Gaal remain in charge, but he could be persuaded to stay if Mourinho is appointed:

Now that the Portuguese manager’s arrival is imminent, the Red Devils seemingly have a much better chance of keeping hold of their star goalkeeper, especially if Mourinho has assured him of success.

De Gea is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world and deserves to be playing at the highest level, competing for both domestic and European titles.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson left United, that has not been the case for the former Atletico Madrid man.

He has, however, remained at the club and contributed more than any other player in the squad, winning United’s Player of the Season award three years running.

Things could have been a lot worse for United in their current period of transition had it not been for De Gea’s brilliance, per the Telegraph‘s James Ducker:

It could be that his loyalty pays off in the coming seasons under Mourinho, as the former FC Porto, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea boss has a proven history of success, per Match of the Day‘s Gary Lineker:

If he can persuade De Gea to stay on, Mourinho will at least have one area he does not have to tinker with as there is arguably not a better No. 1 in the Premier League.

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It’s been quite a fall for Mario Balotelli.

Four years ago, he was the up-and-comer in the Italian player pool.  He had just provided the deciding assist to give Manchester City their first English title since 1968—a last-second pass to Sergio Aguero that will go down as one of the defining moments in the Premier League this century.

He carried Italy’s No. 9 shirt into the 2012 European Championships and dazzled, sealing Italy’s progress from the group stage with a goal against Ireland, and the win fueled their semifinal upset of Germany with two strikes, including an 18-yard thunderbolt of a strike and subsequent celebration that spawned parodies by the dozen.

Now his career is hanging by a thread.  Between issues off the field and a prolonged run of bad form on it, Balotelli is a man without a club.  The team that owns his rights, Liverpool, doesn’t want him.  He doesn’t seem to have been able to impress AC Milan enough on his loan this season for them to buy him outright.

He has talent—so much talent.  Besides Domenico Berardi he’s probably the most natively gifted attacker Italy has.  But for one reason or another, he’s never been able to bring it all to bear at the same time—which is why there is so much uncertainty surrounding his future.

Things started going really wrong two seasons ago, when Milan sold Balotelli to Liverpool.  He never settled at Anfield, and he scored only three times in 21 games through all competitions.  Clearly not in the team’s plans, he made a surprising loan move back to Milan near the very end of last summer’s transfer window.

Having not played for months, it took Balotelli a few weeks to get back into game shape.  When then-coach Sinisa Mihajlovic did give him his re-debut in the third game of the season—the first Derby della Madonnina against Inter Milan—we saw what looked like a new man.

Balotelli took what had been a relatively dull game and turned into a dynamic one.  He was the most dangerous man on the field for the last half-hour of that game.  Had Inter employed a lesser goalkeeper than Samir Handanovic, Milan would have at least scored an equalizer rather than succumbing to a 1-0 defeat.  Perhaps even more important, Balotelli declined to respond when Inter defenders began trying to goad him into losing his temper.

He kept that start going through the month of September.  He was similarly influential as a sub against Palermo, scored on his first start of the year with an excellent free-kick against Udinese and put in a good shift with his team down a man against Genoa.

Then his season fell apart.  In that game against Genoa, he suffered a sports hernia.

Sports hernias are tricky injuries, and this one required surgery.  He was initially expected to miss a month, but didn’t make his return until January.

By that point M’Baye Niang had developed an effective partnership with Carlos Bacca up front, and Balotelli was forced back into a substitute’s role.  This saw him slide back into old habits, particularly the tendencies to loaf when not in possession and pick up cards.  That lack of effort drew the ire of Mihajlovic, and Balotelli stayed on the bench.

When Niang injured his ankle in a car accident, Balotelli had more of a chance in the starting lineup, but still had to fend off competition from Luiz Adriano and Jeremy Menez.  He had some good performances, particularly in early April against Juventus, but on the whole his season never lived up to the promise of those first four games.

That’s a darn shame, because this loan move to Milan was widely seen as Balotelli’s last chance at high-level football.  Now there’s no knowing where he’ll be next season.

It’s clear Liverpool don’t want him anymore.  Milan aren’t going to buy him back, but they are still an option. Sky Sport Italia reported on Sunday (h/t Football Italia) that the Rossoneri are prepared to take him back next year on another loan deal to see if he can expand on his positive start this year.

There are other options.  February reports from Press Association Sport (h/t ESPN FC) stated the Reds were prepared to offer the player to the clubs of the Chinese Super League, which has been raiding Europe’s clubs with big-money moves for the likes of Ezequiel Lavezzi, Jackson Martinez and Ramires in the past year.

But leaving Italy tends to intensify Balotelli’s problems, as exemplified by his difficulties settling at both Liverpool and Manchester City.  If he wants to stay and Milan decides against keeping him, there is one option—unlikely as it is.

On Tuesday, Raffaele Vrenna, the president of newly promoted Crotone, told La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Football Italia) not only was he interested in Balotelli, but he would also “give him the captain’s armband” if he accepted a move to the Sharks.

While it seems outrageous, the idea of moving down to a small team to reboot one’s career isn’t unheard of, and it’s something Balotelli could certainly use—a shot in the arm.  The sticking point is money—tiny Crotone is unlikely to be able to afford his wages.

Assuming these are Balotelli’s only three options, which would be the best?

China would certainly be lucrative.  The Chinese are looking to pay top-dollar to try to bring their league to prominence, and a player with Balotelli’s profile would certainly raise the Super League’s recognition level. But it’s probably a dead end career-wise.  If he ever wants to play internationally again, he’ll need to stay in Europe.

Milan is a good place for him.  It’s a familiar environment, and he has behaved better in Italy than abroad. The big question is playing time.  At Milan he won’t be a guaranteed starter, and if he’s to get his career back on track, he needs to play regularly.  He’ll get that at Crotone, where he’ll easily be the best attacker on the team and likely a clean slate.

But there will be challenges there as well.  The Sharks are about to embark on their first-ever Serie A season—they’re sure to struggle for survival next year.  Balotelli’s response to such a situation would be telling.  If he turned into an on-field leader, his stock would skyrocket.  But if he reacts badly, he could truly bury his career.

Staying in Italy is probably Balotelli’s best bet to revive his career and become Super Mario again.  Milan and Crotone each have their own pros and cons, and Balotelli will have to chose wisely.  If he makes the wrong decision, his career—which even now still holds untold promise—may never recover.

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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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Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane will reportedly be given the green light to pursue Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Borussia Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this summer, signings that could top £130 million.

That’s according to Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Joe Short of the Daily Express) who have claimed Los Blancos boss, formerly the most expensive player in history himself, will be bankrolled with big money ahead of next term. The aforementioned duo are said to be high up on his list of targets.

Courtois, it’s suggested, could be subject to what would be a staggering £77 million bid from the Spanish giants. “Gazzetta claim Chelsea will move for Inter Milan goalkeeper Samir Handanovic if Courtois is sold and reinvest most of his transfer fee into signing new players in other positions,” noted Short.

As relayed by HLN’s Kristof Terreur, the young goalkeeper has come a long way in such a short space of time, with six major trophies won in his career already:

After excelling during a loan spell with Atletico Madrid and then in his debut term with Chelsea, the most recent season was more difficult for Courtois. He was sent off on two occasions, missed a prolonged stint of the season due to an injury and, as expected, found it difficult to find his best form in a struggling side.

Real Madrid may well have been linked with the likes of the Chelsea stopper and Manchester United man David De Gea, per Adam Crafton of the MailOnline. But as they gear up for the final of the UEFA Champions League on Saturday, the tournament’s official Twitter feed reflected on just how good Keylor Navas has been this term:

Courtois has the potential to be special at his very best, though, able to command his area, pull off stunning saves and get the team moving with incisive distribution. Even so, a reported figure of £77 million seems extremely excessive, even for someone with the 24-year-old’s sky-high potential.

By contrast, the fee mooted for Aubameyang of £53 million seems short of the valuation Dortmund would place on their on-fire forward.

The Gabon international striker ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to the Real Madrid blueprint as a quick, skilful and physical forward who can be devastating on the break. These are the kind of moments that would light up the Santiago Bernabeu on a regular basis:

That he’s added goals to his game over the last season and a half has been key to the striker blossoming into one of the best strikers in world football. Only Bayern Munich’s goalscorer extraordinaire Robert Lewandowski netted more in the German top flight in 2015-16; BVB’s star man got on the scoresheet 25 times in total.

While Manchester United are also noted as an interested party when it comes to the forward, per Short’s report, German football pundit and former Norway international Jan Aage Fjortoft can’t foresee Dortmund letting their man go anywhere any time soon:

You wonder quite where Aubameyang would fit into this Real setup, too. In Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, they already have three of the finest attackers in world football. As well as the Dortmund star has done this season, he isn’t quite ready to oust one of those yet, and at 26 years old, he will not want to be playing a supporting role from the bench.

Of the trio, Benzema is arguably the man most likely to be shipped out, although—according to Mark Ogden of the Independent—while the Red Devils are to make the Frenchman their top summer target, Real are also said to be in talks to extend his contract. That would surely be a concern for Aubameyang, despite the allure a club such as Madrid would possess.

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Manchester United legend Eric Cantona doesn’t think Jose Mourinho is a good fit to be Red Devils manager and believes the Old Trafford hierarchy should have tried harder to appoint Pep Guardiola.

Per ESPN FC, Mourinho is expected to be appointed United boss soon following the recent departure of Louis van Gaal, while Guardiola will be in charge of Manchester City next term.

Cantona, 50, said he has much admiration for Mourinho, but the Frenchman does not believe his style of play will be well-received at Old Trafford, per Owen Gibson in the Guardian:

I love José Mourinho, but in terms of the type of football he plays I don’t think he is Manchester United.

I love his personality, I love the passion he has for the game, his humour. He is very intelligent, he demands 100% of his players. And of course he wins things.

But I don’t think it’s the type of football that the fans of Manchester United will love, even if they win. He can win with Manchester United. But do they expect that type of football, even if they win? I don’t think so.

Cantona, of course, was a key component for Sir Alex Ferguson as he won his first four Premier League titles as United manager between 1993 and 1997.

The superlative and tenacious forward played a vital role in establishing the fast-paced, attacking style that would come to be Ferguson’s trademark during his hugely successful 27-year reign at United.

For Cantona, Guardiola would have been the much better appointment to carry on the tradition of attractive football at United, per Gibson:

“Guardiola was the one to take. He is the spiritual son of Johan Cruyff,” said Cantona.

“I would have loved to have seen Guardiola in Manchester [United]. He is the only one to change Manchester. He is in Manchester, but at the wrong one.”

However, Mourinho is seemingly the man the United hierarchy have opted for, and he is likely to bring more success than Van Gaal did. The Dutchman may have led the Red Devils to an FA Cup win on Saturday, but he could only secure a fifth-place finish in the Premier League.

For many, it is a sensible move from United, a move that puts pragmatism over sentiment as they try to become title challengers once again.

Mourinho is a proven winner and is likely to engineer an improvement from the Red Devils even if the footballing traditions of the club are not adhered to, per Match of the Day‘s Gary Lineker:

For others, though, the appointment of the 53-year-old Portuguese boss—formerly in charge and successful at Porto, Inter Milan and Real Madrid as well as Chelsea—is a huge risk.

The Times‘ Matthew Syed warned against “trading the value of a short-term uplift in results on the risk of a man whose narcissistic tendencies shame football and could contaminate the club’s reputation.”

Cantona clearly shares some of Syed’s concerns that Mourinho is not an appointment in keeping with the traditions of the Manchester giants.

He admitted the club have “lost something” since Ferguson departed in 2013 but acknowledged the Scotsman left big shoes to fill, per Gibson.

“It’s difficult to come after someone who has been at the club 25 years,” Cantona said. “Even if you are a great manager, the fans still feel the philosophy of Ferguson.”

In an ideal world, United fans would undoubtedly have wanted to see Ferguson eventually succeeded by one of his former stars, and it previously looked as though Ryan Giggs was being lined up to take the manager’s job at Old Trafford, per BBC Sport.

The Welshman may still get his chance—Mourinho is unlikely to stay in charge at United very long—but Cantona has now put himself forward, per Gibson.

“I do many things, and I’m very happy,” Cantona said. “But if they asked me to become the manager of [United], I would. Because Guardiola is in [City] and they want someone to win things with wonderful football? It’s me.”

It would be an intriguing prospect to see Cantona pacing the touchline at Old Trafford, and his appointment would surely be celebrated by United fans, such is his standing at the club.

However, it seems highly unlikely it will happen soon, if ever, and the hope from Cantona and the United faithful will now be for Mourinho to at least improve results at Old Trafford even if his style is not wholly satisfactory.

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Manchester United have reportedly offered Zlatan Ibrahimovic a £250,000-a-week deal to join them in the summer.

It has widely been reported following Louis van Gaal’s recent sacking as United manager that Ibrahimovic—whose Paris Saint-Germain contract expires next month—will join the Old Trafford club to work under likely-incoming boss Jose Mourinho, per James Ducker and Jason Burt of the Telegraph.

According to Goal’s French football writer Loic Tanzi (via Get French Football), United will offer the 34-year-old striker a bumper weekly wage along with an £8 million bonus in order to persuade him to choose a switch to Old Trafford over a move to Major League Soccer:

Per BBC Sport’s Simon Stone, Zlatan also “has lucrative offers from China already in place” but Mourinho could be the trump card for United, as Ibrahimovic “has spoken warmly of his experience of working with [him] in the past” at Inter Milan.

Given his age, it is no surprise that United are not prepared to offer him a long-term deal, but there is little doubt that the Sweden international could be huge short-term help at Old Trafford.

Unlike many of the players in the Red Devils’ front line—Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford—Ibra is an established superstar and a proven goalscorer at the very highest level.

United need a player of his stature if they are to return to the upper echelons of English and European football, as their attack is currently lacking in proven quality, per Bleacher Report’s Dean Jones:

Though he is in the latter stages of his career, Ibrahimovic cannot be said to be on the wane.

In the 2015-16 Ligue 1 season, he netted 38 goals in 31 appearances, a return far eclipsing the second top-scorer in the division—Alexandre Lacazette with 21 goals—per WhoScored.com.

Given the scarcity of goals netted by United in Van Gaal’s two-year reign—they scored only 49 times in the 2015-16 Premier League season —a top-level striker is a necessary addition this summer.

United could make few better striker signings than Ibrahimovic, and though he will only likely be valuable for a year or two, the influence he could have on Rashford and Martial could pay further dividends in the future.

Elsewhere, Mourinho could also reportedly look to “raid” former club Chelsea if and when he is appointed as United boss.

Per the Daily Mail‘s Adam Crafton, the Portuguese manager is “keen” to sign defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic, 27, but the Blues will demand “more than £25 million” for the Serbian.

Matic played a key role for Mourinho as Chelsea cruised to the Premier League title in 2014-15, but his drop-off in form last season was also a key reason for the west London club’s alarming downfall.

It is clear that United need to rebuild their engine room—the likes of Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger are nearing the end of their careers—but Matic may not be the answer, given his recent decline.

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Louis van Gaal reportedly learned his fate as Manchester United manager after receiving a phone call from Jose Mourinho “in the last couple of weeks” in which the Portuguese admitted he had been “sounded out” as his replacement. 

Despite leading the Red Devils to FA Cup glory on Saturday Van Gaal, 64, was sacked on Monday, bringing to a close a largely disappointing two-year spell for him as Old Trafford boss.

Mourinho, 53, is widely expected to be installed in his place on a three-year deal, and he reportedly called his former Barcelona colleague to reveal he had been approached by United, per David McDonnell in the Mirror.

McDonnell added that, upon receiving the call, Van Gaal’s confidence that he would remain in charge until the end of his three-year deal in Manchester began to waver, and Mourinho made the call in order “to preserve his long-standing friendship” with the former Barca, Ajax and Bayern Munich boss.

The former Netherlands boss also reportedly “felt humiliated” by United’s approach for Mourinho and left the club “in a rage” after his FA Cup triumph was overshadowed, per Matt Lawton, Chris Wheeler and and Mike Keegan in the Daily Mail.

Firm reports emerged of Van Gaal’s imminent sacking immediately after United claimed their first trophy since 2013 with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley.

The Manchester club then finally confirmed the Dutchman’s long-predicted departure on Monday:

Delivering a piece of silverware could not save Van Gaal after he failed to lead United to a top-four finish in the 2015-16 Premier League, meaning they will not be in the UEFA Champions League next season.

He had also long ago lost the support of the Old Trafford faithful after instilling an insipid style of play at United.

Mourinho is unlikely to return United to the swashbuckling attacking side they were for so long under Sir Alex Ferguson—that is not really the former Chelsea boss’ style—but his recent record across Europe indicates that he should be able to engineer a vast improvement.

Having previously worked with Van Gaal at the Camp Nou, many questioned how Mourinho’s relationship with his former mentor would be affected by him being installed as his successor at United, per the Guardian‘s Daniel Taylor:

However, the former Inter Milan, Real Madrid and FC Porto boss seemingly moved to make sure their friendship remained intact despite his imminent appointment as Van Gaal’s replacement.

The self-appointed Special One is likely to undo much of Van Gaal’s work from the last two seasons, with Everton centre-back John Stones reportedly a key target for him in the summer, per Bleacher Report’s Dean Jones:

United’s hierarchy and fanbase are likely to demand an immediate improvement after three disappointing seasons since Ferguson left, and of all the managers available to them, Mourinho is surely the best equipped to lead them back to the top of English football.

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Liverpool are reportedly ready to bring Edin Dzeko back to the Premier League after his forgettable first season at AS Roma.

That’s according to the Sunday Star (h/t Edo Dalmonte of Calciomercato.com), who stated the Reds are looking at the former Manchester City man. Roma are said to be willing to cash in on the Bosnia-Herzegovina international, who has struggled to find his feet in the Italian top flight.

Dzeko knows all about the Premier League having scored plenty during his spell at the Etihad Stadium.

Here is a look at some of a few bright moments from his campaign in the Italian capital:

It’s noted in the piece that Dzeko does want to say at the Stadio Olimpico and has already turned down a chance to move to the Chinese Super League. However, as noted here by Bosnian football journalist Sasa Ibrulj, opportunities have been scarce for the forward at Roma:

Dzeko would be an interesting capture for Liverpool. While there were times at Manchester City when the striker looked a little cumbersome, he was always an effective option, whether starting matches or coming off the bench. His physicality and aerial ability are well suited to English football, too.

Manager Jurgen Klopp may view him as an upgrade on someone like Christian Benteke. Dzeko isn’t the quickest, although he’s more mobile and industrious than the Reds’ current No. 9, who doesn’t seem to align with the manager’s blueprint.

This graphic from WhoScored.com documented the striker’s demise at Anfield:

Even so, better options are surely out there for the Reds. Klopp built a team full of hungry young players when he was at Dortmund, and you would anticipate he’ll seek to do the same on Merseyside. Having enjoyed success with City and coming off a poor term with Roma, the former Wolfsburg forward doesn’t seem to match up with the new Anfield template.

Neither does controversial forward Mario Balotelli, whose days at Liverpool look to be numbered. According to Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia), he could still have a future with Milan, though.

It’s suggested that while the Serie A giants are not looking to sign the 25-year-old on a permanent deal, they are pondering whether or not it’s worth extending the loan deal which took him to Milan at the start of this season.

As noted here by WhoScored.com, things didn’t go well for the Italy international during his second stint at the San Siro:

Balotelli isn’t the kind of character Klopp would want to have in his squad. The German is all about the team ethic, self sacrifice and reaping the gains as a collective. But Balotelli has a questionable attitude, poor application and is very much a player who is all about the individual.

Still, in the right setup and with the right guidance, there is still a slender chance of Balotelli thriving for a top club in the future. His agent, Mino Raiola, told GQ (h/t BT Sport’s James Horncastle) recently that he thinks there is tremendous talent to exploit:

It’d be a huge surprise if it was exploited at Anfield, though. Former manager Brendan Rodgers brought Balotelli in as a wild card and even he lost confidence in the forward in the final stages of his tenure. The Italian seems even less of a match for Klopp, and you can make a pretty safe bet the club will be seeking to move him on quickly.

Sadly for Balotelli, he’s at a point where options are likely to be scarce. Having failed to fire at Inter Milan, City, Milan and Liverpool, it’d be a big surprise to see any team in that kind of bracket move for him. Another term on loan with the Rossoneri may be as good as things get for him in 2016-17.

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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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