Jose Mourinho 'believes Ryan Giggs will be the next Manchester United manager' when Louis van Gaal leaves
Reports claim the former Chelsea manager is resigned to missing out on the manager's job at Manchester United
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho’s inability to develop young players into first-team regulars will cost him the chance of replacing Louis van Gaal as Manchester United manager at the expense of Ryan Giggs, the former Chelsea boss is believed to have accepted.
Van Gaal has been under enormous pressure this season to improve results at Old Trafford after over £250m of transfer spending in just two seasons, with United still in danger of missing out on the top four and a place in next season’s Champions League.
With Mourinho available having been sacked by Chelsea in December, many fans called for the Portuguese to replace Van Gaal throughout the season, only for the club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to keep faith with Van Gaal and show a clear determination to stick with the Dutchman until the end of the season at least.
Initial expectations were that Mourinho would replace Van Gaal in the summer, regardless of where they finish, but the Sunday Mirror claims that Mourinho himself has accepted that the club will stick with their original plan of succession to appoint former midfielder Giggs as manager after Van Gaals’s contract expires at the end of the 2016/17 season.
The apparent “Manchester United way” has seen the club develop a preference to bringing young talent through from their academy into the first team, with the famed “Class of 92” – which featured Giggs along with the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers Gary and Phil – a mantra for how the club should be managed today.
Van Gaal has spoken of his happiness to give chances to young players, with Marcus Rashford the latest academy starlet to make his mark on the first team after scoring four goals in his first two appearances.
With Mourinho’s track record going against him – the only youth player given a chance this season was midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek only to be told that he failed to impress – it’s believed that the Old Trafford job will evade the former Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Porto manager once again.
Developing youth is known to be a big factor for Woodward, with Van Gaal revealing they spoke about it in his initial job interview when he succeeded David Moyes in 2014.
“We discussed young players in my interview,” Van Gaal said this week. “We had two conversations, first with Ed Woodward and later with the owners.
“They said what the culture of Manchester United is and why they wanted me. One of the reasons was that I give young players a chance, as we are seeing.
“When you have me as a manager, you have a lot of chances.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments