Why Nuno Espirito Santo should be the ideal option to replace Jose Mourinho
Nuno Espirito Santo has been one of the most inspiring managers in English football lately. Wolverhampton Wanderers appointed him as their manager last season and he guided the club to a Championship victory and a promotion to the Premier League. Wolves arguably played the most impressive brand of football in the second tier of English football last season.
And he has carried on with his good work in the Premier League as well. Wolves have accumulated five points from their first four games and have shown plenty of character to hold Manchester City and Everton to draws. The points against City and Everton are as precious as gold and could go a long way in deciding their Premier League fortunes. Wolves registered their first win of the season with a 1-0 win over West Ham United last weekend.
The 44-year-old Portuguese manager is still in the early days of his managerial career but he has managed clubs like Valencia and Porto. After leading Wolves to promotion, the young manager should be on a high, making it the perfect time for Manchester United to sign him.
Santo is known for his flexible style of play which involves pressing and counter-attacks. Although he only has six years of managerial experience, his acumen and ability to read the game is beyond doubt. He has totally transformed Wolves from an average side to a team that is capable of challenging the best in the Premier League.
And he has not done so by spending loads of money. Yes, he has been backed by financial resources to some extent, allowing him to bring players like Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota and Joao Moutinho. However, his success hasn’t been entirely down to that. It is his tactical brilliance that has paid the dividends.
His ability to do the right things at the right time and at the right place was evident from the way Wolves performed last season. He seems to know when exactly to press in the midfield, where to deploy which player and when to change the shape of the team.
As a manager, it is important to understand the team’s strengths and weaknesses and Santo does have a good understanding of the same. Furthermore, he seems to have a separate game plan to tackle each opposition and is certainly not wed to a single strategy. He knows how to extract the best out of his players and is not afraid to experiment with the team dynamics to do so.
United have a perfect blend of youth and experience in their squad but Jose Mourinho has been guilty of underusing the set of players at his disposal. He has been too rigid with his tactics, thus preventing the players from enjoying freedom on the pitch.
Players like Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Juan Mata and Paul Pogba should flourish when given a sense of freedom in the midfield and the final third. Unsurprisingly, United have lacked that edge in their attack and their ways have been too one-dimensional.
To be honest, Mourinho’s reading of the game has been poor and he has often missed a trick with his substitutions. Mourinho relies primarily on defence and he hasn’t been able to show his tactical versatility to cover for his lack of quality defensive options. Anytime he tried to do so, his decision-making has been bizarre and the results have been disastrous.
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To make matters worse, Mourinho’s man management hasn’t been great. On the other hand, Santo is commendable when it comes to managing his limited resources. Owing to his Portuguese background, he has successfully lured players like Joao Moutinho, Rui Patricio, Ruben Neves, Helder Costa and Diogo Jota to his club. Mourinho has clearly lacked such an influence in the transfer market.
Hence, there are countless reasons why Nuno Espirito Santo could be a perfect fit at Old Trafford and the 44-year-old might just be the perfect man to turn the club’s fortunes – provided if he gets the opportunity to do so.
