Fresh reports have again surfaced of Jose Mourinho wanting to sign his long-term target Lucas Moura at Manchester United. His agent has spoken about Jose Mourinho’s affinity towards his client and Jose’s long pursuit for the winger since the Portuguese was at Real Madrid. His agent went on to say that Lucas Moura was still wanted by Mourinho at Manchester United but failed to mention if any move was forthcoming from the club.
“Who called Lucas Moura there [to Real Madrid]? It wasn’t Florentino Perez who wanted Lucas Moura, it was Mourinho,” Ribeiro told television program Bola da Vez.
“Mourinho was and is passionate about Lucas Moura. So much so that now at Manchester he wants Lucas as well.”
Manchester United went all out in the transfer market after appointing Jose Mourinho as manager. And the start they had seemed to justify the massive outlay on the players. But ever since United ended up on the other side of a Pep-led Manchester City masterclass, things have been going downhill for them. After an enterprising start to the season, they have succumbed to 3 consecutive defeats within a span of a week. This has again shown how fast the tide can turn in football. And Mourinho now has to take tough decisions regarding his team as he cannot afford to carry around players in a team who are expected to challenge for the title.
Coming to the links with Lucas Moura, they have indeed come out of the blue with regard to Manchester United. Throughout the summer, the Red Devils were strongly linked with a centre-back and a right-back as it was apparent those are the areas which were lacking any sort of depth. The links with Lucas Moura are taken with a pinch of salt due to the number of options Mourinho has in the attacking third with Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Ashley Young and Lingard all embroiled in a close fight for the wing roles between them.
Lucas Moura is certainly United quality and his pace and dribbling skills will certainly add to the team but if we are to believe what the agent said, there will have to be a big name who might have to be offloaded.
Some quarters also believe it might be an age old ploy by the agent to keep PSG on their toes with Moura’s recent resurgence in the first team. After an inconsistent start at the Parc des Princes, the 24-year-old has been a regular in Unai Emery’s side this season, scoring four goals in six appearances for the defending Ligue 1 champions.
If the agent’s words do materialise the player likely to be under threat in January will be Juan Mata but it is difficult to see Manchester United splashing the big bucks again for a winger this season.
