- Jose Mourinho to PSG rumours are hotting up and worrying Manchester United
- Some of this Old Trafford squad could be glad to see the back of him
- Could the likes of Anthony Martial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan shine under a more attack-minded coach?
- READ MORE: Jose Mourinho to PSG: Five replacements Manchester United could hire
It may be Jose Mourinho attempting to scare his current employers, or it could be news filler for the international break, but one way or another speculation that Manchester United could lose their manager to PSG is hotting up.
The Sun claim United are worried about the situation, with the Portuguese holding initial talks over replacing Unai Emery, while Don Balon claim his appointment has the support of influential star player Neymar.
Should United actually be worried? Despite a somewhat misleading flying start (a string of four-goal victories against relegation fodder), the Red Devils’ form has taken a hit since then, leaving them eight points off the pace in the title race.
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While Mourinho struggles in the big games, managing just one goal in his last ten away games against fellow top six sides, Manchester City have already beaten Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal this season by a 9-1 aggregate scoreline.
As well as that, it looks like Mourinho may be failing to truly get the best out of a number of players in his squad, with these five arguably likely to benefit if the former Chelsea boss were to take up an offer at the Parc des Princes…
Anthony Martial
Often used as an impact sub by Mourinho this season, it could surely be argued that Anthony Martial has done enough in those brief appearances to show he should be starting more games.
The France international exploded onto the scene in his first year at Old Trafford, when he finished as their top scorer and terrorised defenders with his pace and finishing ability.
For all Louis van Gaal’s flaws, he at least largely trusted Martial in his preferred centre-forward role, and the youngster has since gone backwards under Mourinho.
Were the Portuguese to leave, Martial could get the manager he deserves to help develop him into the world class striker he once looked like becoming.
Luke Shaw
Harshly overlooked for so long by Mourinho, it remains unclear what Luke Shaw has to do to get a game at Old Trafford.
The England international arrived at United as one of the most highly-rated young players in the country, but has had his fitness struggles in his time in Manchester.
Most notably, Shaw missed much of the 2015/16 campaign with a broken leg, but Mourinho doesn’t seem to have taken that into account as he seems to make something of a slow recovery.
The Sun have claimed Shaw could be loaned out in January, but a change in manager could prove a huge slice of luck for the player in terms of getting his United career back on track.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
A world class playmaker on his day, Henrikh Mkhitaryan took some time to get going at United as Mourinho bizarrely kept him out of the team for the first few months of last season.
Once introduced, the Armenian showed his class, but he’s surely not playing under the right kind of manager to truly fulfill his enormous potential.
Mkhitaryan looked at his best under more attack-minded coaches like Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel, and Mourinho has shown time and time again that he never quite knows how best to utilise creative players of this kind.
Paul Pogba
Having emerged as one of the best midfielders in the world under the guidance of Antonio Conte at Juventus, it’s hard to argue Paul Pogba has consistently looked as good under Mourinho.
The France international was arguably played too often last term as he made 51 appearances in all competitions despite not having a proper pre-season.
Now injured, possibly from sheer burnout, Pogba has been greatly missed by a United side who are perhaps expecting him to do a little bit of everything in their midfield.
Despite being talented enough to play a variety of roles, Pogba surely shouldn’t be doing all of them at once, with a different manager perhaps being a bit more imaginative about a long-term settled role for the 24-year-old.
Romelu Lukaku
Finally, despite a strong start to this season, Romelu Lukaku has shown in recent games that he’s going to struggle to be the striker Mourinho wants him to be.
Cutting an isolated figure in games against Liverpool and Chelsea, Lukaku doesn’t look like he’s going to get the support he needs to truly shine due to working under such a defensive manager.
It’s easy to imagine that under a Conte or a Guardiola, Lukaku would be surrounded by more intricately-drilled attacking midfielders who’d play closer to him and give him more ammunition to end what is an admittedly poor big-game record.