Truth Unveiled: Mourinho Travelled To Austria For New Signing?
Reuters / John Sibley
Jose Mourinho caught the media’s attention despite trying to blend into the crowd during the exciting Austrian victory over Serbia in a World Cup qualifier at the Ernst Happel Stadion last Friday night.
The 54-year-old was pictured looking rather sheepish under a baseball cap. There was a cloud of speculation up in the air, claiming he was scouting Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and Austrian TV (via Mirror) later suggested that the Red Devils’ coach was there to scout Southampton winger Dusan Tadic.
However, those speculation got ruled out when sources suggested the target was actually another winger. The Portuguese boss was casting his eye over the Frankfurt star Mijat Gacinovic. The 22-year-old is regarded as one of the most exciting young talents in the Bundesliga.
Nemanja Matic, who works under Mourinho, played and scored for the Balkan nation in their World Cup qualifier. And some reports suggest it might be the former Chelsea midfielder who alerted the Red Devils’ boss to the talents of the Frankfurt winger, who has an incredible work rate and has been under the radar of Arsenal and Bayern.
REUTERS/Marko Djurica
The former Chelsea coach is desperate for a winger, with Inter Milan’s Ivan Perisic being the former primary target that they failed to land. But now, the Portuguese seems to have set his sights on Gacinovic, who can play wide on both left and right, and equally well in central midfield, where he could occupy a creative role.
The talented winger moved to Germany and signed with Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer of 2015. He made his official debut for the club in November 2015, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–2 away league loss against Mainz 05. The Serbian international has netted two goals in nine appearances this season for club and country.
The youngster recently signed a new contract which won’t meet its deadline until June 2021, and would therefore, make it difficult for the Old Trafford outfit to land him. Even though it might take a big offer to swoop him, Mourinho’s presence in Austria demonstrates that he’s serious, and also has a route to the player through Nemanja Matic, who is seen as a senior figure in the Serbian squad.