The Red Devils signed Lindelof from Benfica in this summer’s transfer window and he was omitted from the squad as Manchester United ran riot to beat the Hammers 4-0 at Old Trafford. New signings Romelu Lukaku scored a brace whereas Nemanja Matic was named Man of the Match on his Old Trafford debut.
The Portuguese manager was questioned about Lindelof’s absence from the squad to which Mourinho opined that he was not ready to start after the Super Cup defeat against Real Madrid. Mourinho told MUTV, “I think Real Madrid was too early for him.”
Mourinho continued by saying, “He played because Jones and Bailly were both suspended. I had players coming from different leagues to the Premier League and normally it is not easy. The difference with Lukaku and Matic is that they have years of experience of the Premier League.”
The gaffer then suggested that he has dealt with such conditions before by citing the example of Ricardo Carvalho. Mourinho said, “brought in 2004 a phenomenal central defender to England, Ricardo Carvalho. He was one of the best central defenders in the last decade of the Premier League, but he struggled. It was difficult for him to adapt in the beginning.”
The former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager believes Lindelof needs time to adjust to new conditons as he concluded, “I think Victor needs time, a little bit of time. He’s going to have that time. [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan is not a defender and last season he needed this time. So step by step because Victor is a fantastic player.”