Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was asked where he sees his team in 2020, and his answer was simple- competing for everything. The Portugese believes he’ll have United not just contending for the Premier League title, but also to be champions of Europe.
“Better than now,” Mourinho responded to BT Sport when the question of where does he see this team two from now was posed to him.
“Fighting for what we are fighting for now but with different ammunition. I see us being real contenders for everything, that’s the level we want to achieve.”
Mourinho celebrated his 55th birthday and his 100th game in charge at United last Friday, and this came just days after the club announced his contract extension. Mourinho became the first manager in United’s illustrious history to win a trophy during his first year on the job, and he actually brought home three (Community Shield, League Cup, Europa League).
In terms of building the club up so they can reach the next level, the next opportunity is the summer transfer window. United just completed a very productive January transfer window by acquiring star forward Alexis Sanchez. In summer, they will prioritize central midfield, according to Mourinho.
They won’t be looking to beef up attack, as the Red Devils boss says they are set at the position group for the time being.
“I think in attack it’s very difficult for us to improve. Where are we going to get a better combination of players than we have?” he said.
He also took pre-emptive action to shoot down the persistent Cristiano Ronaldo rumors that persist, and will no doubt return come summertime.
“We cannot buy Messi, we cannot buy Crsitiano. These are the best players of the last decade. Where can we get better players than Mata, Martial, Lingard, Rashford, Sanchez, Lukaku? So, in attack, we have an amazing group of players.”
Mourinho added that the team will need a replacement for Michael Carrick and potentially Marouane Fellaini.
“In midfield Michael Carrick will be not the No.16. Who will have Michael Carrick in his shirt next season, so we lose a player. It’s there in midfield where we need to improve but to get a player to compensate the situation of Michael,” he continued.
“If Fellaini leaves we have two gaps there so let’s see what happens. But in relation to Fellaini the good thing is he wants to stay with us and we would like him to stay with us.
“To sign a contract the person must be happy and let’s see.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune corporation blogging community Chicago Now.
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