The reason why Jose Mourinho is having second thoughts about signing Mesut Ozil

Posted Monday, October 09, 2017 by givemesport.com

During Jose Mourinho's time at Real Madrid, one player really excelled under his leadership.

The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos were of course their brilliant selves, but Mesut Ozil produced the best football of his career under the watchful eye of the 'Special One'.

The German playmaker was the silky creator that made Los Blancos tick, serving up a plethora of chances for the strikers.

He even appeared to work hard under Mourinho, something he has been regularly ridiculed for during his time with Arsenal.

His switch to north London in 2013 was supposed to be a turning point for the club, a truly world class star arriving to reverse the previous losses of Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

OZIL'S ARSENAL STRUGGLES

Sadly, it hasn't worked out like that, with Ozil only sporadically producing the moments of magic which became synonymous with his time in Madrid.

He is now in the last year of his contract with the Gunners and it seems likely that he will look for a fresh challenge come the summer.

There have been rumblings that he's no longer committed to Arsenal and may even be sold in January to recoup some of his £42.5m fee.

A reunion with Mourinho at Manchester United has been touted as his most likely destination, with Serie A side Inter Milan also actively pursuing the German.

MOURINHO MAY NOT GO AFTER OZIL

However, according to Duncan Castles, Mourinho may not move for Ozil because he doesn't see him as an upgrade on the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata

"Mourinho does like him as a player. He's got that combination of creativity and tactical awareness that he likes," Castles said, per Express.

"But the information I'm getting is that Ozil's not the player he plans to add to the team next summer.

"He's already worked out the areas he wants to improve in. He always had a three summer transfer window plan for Manchester United.

"What I'm told he wants is a player who is better than what he's got at the moment and they don't see Ozil as being better than what he's got in terms of that central, creative, attacking midfielder.

"Where he does want to recruit is in a faster wide player which isn't Ozil's forte.

"I think it's unlikely that's the club he ends up at when he has his freedom on contract in the summer."

Looks like the Manchester switch is off.