So it just seems a matter of time now before Manchester United unveil Jose Mourinho as their new manager, as long as pesky Chelsea don’t continue to hold onto his image rights.

When the Portuguese boss takes his seat at Old Trafford he’ll need to start the huge job of moulding his new squad into winners or at least title challengers. That will probably mean that we shall see plenty of comings and goings this summer.

The ‘Red Devils’ have already been linked heavily with Swedish hitman Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The ageing forward is available on a free transfer, is a proven winner and showed last term that he still has that key knack of scoring plenty of goals. Add in the fact that he is PR/marketing gold and has a very good relationship with Mourinho already, and you can see why he’d be linked with a move.

But for me, I’d personally break the bank and try and persuade Leicester City’s midfield man N’Golo Kante to leave the Premier League champions and join Jose’s revolution in Manchester.

A lot of people instantly point to the influences of frontmen Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez when discussing the main men behind the Foxes success story in 2016. But Kante’s contribution was just as huge, in my opinion.

Back in November, just before everyone noted his worth, I pointed out how well he had done in filling in the gap that was left after Esteban Cambiasso had left the King Power stadium. His form never seemed to dip all season. He tirelessly worked hard for the team getting the ball back at every possible opportunity and finding a teammate to help start the next attack.

His contribution hasn’t gone unnoticed as Didier Deschamps has called him up for the French squad that will host this summers European Championships.

Legendary ex-Man United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was also full of praise:

“N’Golo Kante is by far the best player in the Premier League this season.”

His work and commitment wasn’t match by any of the current midfield men that currently play at Old Trafford.

Michael Carrick’s contract has been left to run it’s course and he’s now free to leave the club. Bastian Schweinsteiger showed us during the last campaign he hasn’t got the legs to play a vital part in a long season.  I doubt Marouane Fellaini will be seen as a Jose Mourinho type player. While Morgan Schneiderlin hasn’t looked a natural fit in a Man Utd shirt. Ander Herrera might still have a bright future at the club but he isn’t a midfield marshall or destroyer.

In Kante, I see a lot of Claude Makelele.

Kante like Makelele is extremely disciplined in knowing his role and sticking to it. Very smart in his positioning and his ability to sniff out danger and stop it from developing. Also nice and clean in the tackle.It’s highly impressive to average around 4.7 tackles per game, to make thirty-seven appearances and only receive three yellow cards.

During his first stint as Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho made Makelele a key player in his successful team. Surely he can see N’Golo Kante could have a similar impact in Man United’s team if they sign him?

The endurance of Kante is another huge plus. He only missed one Premier League game for Leicester City last term and that is really quite  impressive given the amount of miles he’d cover in every game.

Then we have the fact that he’s also just twenty-five years old and continues to improve with each passing season. He made the move from Ligue 2 to Ligue 1 with Caen without much fuss and he then improved when he moved to England. So you’d imagine he’d take a switch to Old Trafford in his stride.

The money men at Old Trafford might also be interest to find out if the French internationalist really does have a £20m release clause. If he does then the deal looks to be a bargain!

For quite a few seasons now Man United’s midfield has been a viewed as the teams vulnerable area, even as far back as Fergie’s last few years at the club. So it is one area that Jose really has to improved upon.

Yes bringing in a big name striker like Zlatan Ibrahimovic can be seen as a big coup for the club but they need to sort out the defensive foundations first and if they can bring in N’Golo Kante then they will be a stronger force for next season and their defence will finally get the protection they need!

 

Posted on May 26th, 2016 by scott
Filed under: Article