Man Utd manager Jose Mourinho facing uncertainty over future at Old Trafford

JOSE MOURINHO is facing increasing scrutiny over his future at Manchester United.

Posted Sunday, December 17, 2017 by Express.co.uk

Man Utd manager Jose Mourinho facing uncertainty over future at Old Trafford
Jose Mourinho's United future could be in doubt

Mourinho goes to The Hawthorns amid simmering unrest at the club following last week's defeat by Manchester City - and the unsavoury bust-ups that followed it.

And with the £30million Armenian midfielder Henrika Mkhitaryan the latest star to clash with the volatile Mourinho, critics in Old Trafford's corridors of power are understood to be seriously considering whether there should be a change at the top.

Some behind the scenes were privately critical of his appointment in the first place and now fear that the controversies that blighted his reign at Chelsea have followed him to United.

They point to the costly mistakes he made there in showing the Stamford Bridge door to the likes of Mohammed Salah, now producing sensational performances at Liverpool, and Manchester City's inspirational Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, whose commitment he publicly doubted.

Others Mourinho fell out with for a time include Romelu Lukaku, who he sold to Everton for £30 million and then re-signed for United last summer for £75million.

Rows with match officials and the FA - plus last Sunday's fracas in the tunnel after the Manchester derby - are fuelling worries at Old Trafford where critics fear the club's reputation is being tarnished.

A win at West Brom would go some way to easing the mounting pressure on Mourinho, but he can now be under no illusion that the shenanigans of the recent past will not be tolerated forever.

In the meantime, the Portuguese 'man of war' is also bracing himself for a battle to keep at least two of his biggest stars.

French giants Paris Saint-Germain reportedly want to sign United's Marouane Fellaini on a free transfer. And French sources claim the Ligue 1 runaway leaders are prepared to offer the 30-year-old midfield ace a four-year deal to move to Paris next year.

Fellaini's current United contract expires next year and he's yet to agree a new one. Now Mourinho fears the player could be tempted by a switch which would land him a massive signing on fee.

Mourinho is also hoping the United board will repel renewed interest from Barcelona in his Dutch utility man Daley Blind, especially with fellow defender Eric Bailly ruledout for three months with an ankle injury.

The La Liga leaders have had their eyes on Blind for the last three years and are understood to have made new enquiries about the possibility of luring him to the Nou Camp.

Barca are understood to consider Blind a better - and cheaper- bet than Real Sociedad defender Inigo Martinez who was their original defensive target, according to the Spanish newspaper, Marca.