Home » What happened to Jose Mourinho’s 11 Manchester United signings?

What happened to Jose Mourinho’s 11 Manchester United signings?

by Sam Peoples

Jose Mourinho spent £400 million on transfers during his brief reign at Manchester United. He scorched the earth at Old Trafford and the now Tottenham Hotspur manager’s transfer signings are partly to blame for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s poor results at the club. Manchester United will face off with several big Premier League rivals during the holiday period. Supporters can visit Betfred during the holidays to wager on the latest game featuring the Red Devils.

Mourinho signed 11 players while managing Manchester United. Many have been flops with others being moved on already. Here is a look at what happened to Mourinho’s 11 Manchester United transfer signings.

Eric Bailly – £30m

Eric Bailly has not proven himself worth the £30m Manchester United paid for him from Villarreal. Bailly is injured and out for the current season at the moment. His contract expires in June 2020.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Free transfer

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was Mourinho’s best signing. He scored 29 goals in 53 matches in all competitions but suffered a devastating knee injury before leaving for LA Galaxy in 2018.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – £27m

Henrikh Mkhitaryan arrived from Borussia Dortmund with high expectations, but failed to bed-in to Mourinho’s team and tactics. In two and a half seasons, Mkhitaryan scored 13 goals before being sent to Arsenal as part of the Alexis Sanchez deal.

Paul Pogba – £89m

Paul Pogba has been a polarising player a Manchester United but it is safe to say for the money paid for the midfielder, he is verging on being a transfer flop. Pogba has missed most of the 2019-20 season due to injury.

Victor Lindelof – £31m

Victor Lindelof has been a steady centre-back for Manchester United and more times than not, selected first-choice. Lindelof has actually been better post-Mourinho than when the manager oversaw the team.

Romelu Lukaku – £75m

Striker Romelu Lukaku was run out of Old Trafford on a rail. Lukaku scored 42 goals in 96 matches for Manchester United and his absence has been a big problem this term. Lukaku was used as a scapegoat when there were plenty of other players (Pogba) that should have been sold first.

Nemanja Matic – £40m

A hefty fee for the former Chelsea defensive midfielder was paid in July 2017. Matic has been hit and miss during his time at the club. Since Mourinho left in 2018, the stopper has been far more miss.

Alexis Sanchez – Swap deal

Mkhitaryan went to Arsenal and Alexis Sanchez arrived at Old Trafford upsetting the wage structure and sending the club into a downward spiral. Sanchez’s arrival in January 2018 was the beginning of the end for Mourinho. Sanchez has since moved to Inter Milan on loan.

Diogo Dalot – £19m

Bought as a teenager from FC Porto, Diogo Dalot was an exciting prospect that has spent much of his time injured at Old Trafford. The full-back has played just 26 times of the time of writing since joining in the summer of 2018.

Fred – £52m

Fred typifies the final summer transfer window under Mourinho. The defensive midfielder was and still is a very Mourinho-like player in the vein of Sulley Muntari and Matic. However, Fred’s enormous transfer fee has not been justified due to a number lacklustre performances over the last 12-plus months. The defensive midfielder has appeared in just 27 league games as of this writing during his time at the club.

Lee Grant – £1.5m

Lee Grant was signed as a third-choice goalkeeper for the Red Devils in the summer of 2018. He has played just two times for the club since arriving for £1.5m from Stoke City.

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