Manchester United’s decision to hand Jose Mourinho a new contract was not a popular one amongst all the fans but with the highest win rate of any Red Devils boss ever (62%), the man does deserve some credit for doing the ‘dirty job’ of fixing all sorts of faults left over by Louis van Gaal.
Eric Bailly, Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (mostly last season) have all been top quality buys for Manchester United.
Victor Lindelof is improving game by game and he will be a different player next season.
At various points in time Ander Herrera, Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, etc, were players who if they did not perform, United would not win.
Now, there are players above the first two in the pecking order, and the third has a lot of competition. Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia, Phil Jones and Marcus Rojo have all improved while Chris Smalling is regaining form.
The squad is in the best shape it has probably been since 2009. Add a couple of more Pogba-type buys and in terms of depth, it could be one of the best squads the club has ever assembled.
On top of that, form this season has been title winning (in almost every other season), and last season, Mourinho won two cups.
Indeed, winning the league and Champions League are realistic possibilities next season if United fans are to be optimistic.
When Jose Mourinho said he would prefer to buy 22 players, it is now clearer what he means now.
He has spent two years very slowly shaping the squad he inherited (which was a mess, to say the least) and he has axed the deadwood but in politically smart ways.
The Portuguese tactician handled the Rooney situation perfectly and he has also taken care of the Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial cases in the right manner.
He could not come in and drop Rooney immediately, or sideline key players instantaneously, because the squad would not play for him.
Instead, Mourinho has had to slowly build and shape his own squad, and after the summer, he will have a first XI which is entirely his (even if it includes some players at the club before him like Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia, Phil Jones, David de Gea, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard).
The idea of ‘second season success’ from Jose Mourinho will take three seasons to come to fruition this time because that is how woeful United were when the former Chelsea boss first arrived.
