Six Mourinho-proof forwards Man Utd could sign if Anthony Martial leaves

Jose Mourinho is quite particular when it comes to his forwards, and it has led to Anthony Martial wanting to leave Manchester United.

It’s hard to judge the Frenchman too harshly, as he has quite clearly not been favoured by Mourinho from the start. The Portuguese coach has aimed veiled barbs at Martial and selected him with an absurdly intermittent regularity that has prevented him from really reaching anything close to his true peak at Old Trafford.

This has led to Martial wanting to leave, which he surely will do in the waning days of this transfer window. United will need to keep hold of him past the English deadline (August 9), as the World Cup has left them short of cover in attack. But once Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford get a couple of week’s training under their belts, Martial will likely be allowed to leave.

But whilst the Frenchman was very definitely a back-up, United will still need to replace him. Arguably with a starting-calibre player as their other forward options heavily favour playing on the left and this has left their right-wing quite bare. But who could United sign? Which forward can cover multiple positions as well as tick the other boxes Mourinho would demand? We’ve come up with a list and ranked them:

Ante Rebic

Wing-forward, Frankfurt

Mourinho spent much of last summer trying to sign Ivan Perisic to no avail, and the Croatian’s impressive World Cup will have only increased his price. So why not go after his younger, more mouldable Croatian wing partner? Ante Rebic provides a lot of what Perisic does but with much more room to grow and improve.

At 24, Rebic would be the perfect age for Mourinho – who enjoys players around this age as they are generally through the roughest “developmental” seasons and ready to fully break out. He’s tall, he’s quick, he’s two-footed and can play on both flanks.

Rebic’s arrival would provide thrust and hard-work (he completed 1.9 dribbles per 90 minutes and 1.9 tackles per-90 last season in the Bundesliga) and a little bit of an edge; Rebic’s skills in the dark arts were on show this summer as helped Croatia make their first ever World Cup final. He’d be a dream forward for the Red Devils.

Rank: 9/10

Willian

Winger, Chelsea

Willian wants to leave Chelsea, specifically because he wants to play in the Champions League. This has primarily led to a strange saga where Barcelona are offering boatloads of cash for a winger about to turn 30 and Chelsea keep turning them down. But Willian is a dream fit for Mourinho’s Manchester United.

Firstly, he plays right-wing so fills in United’s main hole in their line-up. He’s about to turn 30 which would turn most clubs off but makes him ideal for Mourinho and his love of experience. He works hard defensively and can cross a mean ball, which would lead to many more chances for striker Lukaku. He’s almost ideal; the word almost is key though, because the price Chelsea seem to be demanding (north of £60m) would put United off and his production in the final third is still inconsistent, even at 29 years of age.

Rank: 8/10

Mario Mandzukic

Striker, Juventus

Mario Mandzukic is an intense and aggressive centre-forward who is powerful in the air (he scored a header in a World Cup final! Just in the wrong net…) and presses like nobody’s business. Mandzukic’s goal in the correct net against France came because he simply would not give up on a lost cause.

Mandzukic loves the big moments too, scoring in the final, setting up a goal in the semi-final. He’s always ready to rock. Sure, he’s a no. 9 by trade but the past two years at Juventus have shown that he’s willing to adapt for the team, moving out to left-wing. Well, why not the right wing? Obviously he’d keep United a slow team on the break, but imagine Alexis Sanchez and Ashley Young launching back-post crosses to Mandzukic and Marouane Fellaini with Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba running near-post. Land of the giants!

Rank: 8/10

Lucas Ocampos

Wing-forward, Marseille

Lucas Ocampos is that magic Mourinho “youngster” age of 24 despite seeming as though he’s been around forever. After a rough start to life in Europe he’s re-found his rhythm and swagger at Marseille. Standing 6’1″, this Argentine wing-forward can play on either flank or even up-front.

He’s two-footed and has the pace to penetrate behind a defence, the ability to play on and off the ball and the willingness to work hard defensively (his 3.7 tackles per-90 is more than any winger with more than 20 games in Ligue 1 last season). He doesn’t have the proven quality or consistency of others, but he’d be cheaper than the others and could become a surprising star of Mourinho’s Manchester United.

Rank: 7/10

Gareth Bale

Wing-forward, Real Madrid

Gareth Bale is one of the world’s most spectacular players. He’s a superstar forward that can take over the biggest games on the planet if he has to. He guided Wales (Wales!) all the way to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 and it was his magical performance off the bench in the 2018 Champions League final that allowed Real Madrid to complete their hat-trick of triumphs.

Obviously Bale is world-class, and at 29 is prime Mourinho-age. But he’s a superstar player, so surely the Portuguese coach wouldn’t want to indulge him? Well, if you look back in time you’ll see that Mourinho is happy to indulge a superstar player if they produce consistently enough. He was very gentle with Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, and only a bit harsher with Eden Hazard at Chelsea.

Bale has only once failed to score fewer than 17 goals in a season since moving to the Bernabeu and that was in 2016/17 when he spent most of the campaign injured, playing just 27 games. When he’s fit, he produces. And he’s been fit for a whole season and is chomping at the bit to start, but who knows if he figures into Julen Lopetegui’s revolution at Real Madrid? Moreover, Mourinho has expressed a desire to bring Bale back to the Premier League before, and it would make Ed Woodward’s year to pull of such a transfer coup.

Rank: 9/10

Lucas Vazquez

Winger, Real Madrid

Of course, United could always look to the squad depth at the Santiago Bernabeu for a more affordable, yet still remarkably suitable, option. Lucas Vazquez is a tricky, jinky winger. You wouldn’t associate such a player with Mourinho but Vazquez is a true old-school wing type. He will hug the touch-line, hit the by-line and whip crosses (low or high) in.

What’s more, if he does find himself in dangerous areas he is superb at exaggerating and feigning contact to draw fouls. This helps win penalties and key free-kicks, which a side as prosaic as Mourinho’s United could definitely use. He doesn’t need to see a lot of the ball and is basically automatic when he gets it.

Vazquez can handle himself defensively too; he won an impressive 2.6 tackles per-90 last season in La Liga. He’s also acquainted with the biggest stages thanks to his exploits with Madrid. But although he is 27 he’s not been an established starter since 2014/15 for Espanyol (the last time he played more than 1,700 league minutes), so his suitability to the long, hard Premier League seasons are an issue.

Rank: 7/10

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