Needs time
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has spoken about why he paired Eric Bailly with Phil Jones for his first game in the Premier League this season – with Victor Lindelof dropped.
The new recruit was dropped after what many people would describe as a poor pre-season, and has said that he still has plenty of faith in the player, it will just take some time for him to actually adjust, and even compared him to Ricardo Carvalho, who was so prolific for him dur ing his time at Chelsea, and who he won titles with in the Premier League after the defender became one of his most trusted players – and one of the best defenders the Premier League has seen in recent years.
The Express carry the quotes: “Real Madrid [Super Cup] was too early for him.
“It’s not easy coming to the Premier League.
“Ricardo Carvalho – one of the best defenders in this league and it was difficult for him to adapt.
“Victor needs a little bit of time.
“We’ll give him that time. Let’s go, step-by-step.”
Many options
One thing United do have this season in comparison to last term is their squad quality – the club also have several players to come back once the season really gets going, with Luke Shaw, Marcus Rojo and Ashley Young all to come back from injury, and that’s another thing Jose Mourinho has pointed to as he makes the point that United are ready to go the distance this season.
Last term, the amount of games the club had to play, along with a lack in class in certain positions and a failure to kill teams off cost the club, however this season they have already shown they have the ability to make sure games are won and goals are scored.