“Inside Information” – Mourinho Reveals How He Signed 23-Year-Old Champions League Player
REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
Jose Mourinho has revealed that the inside information he got on Victor Lindelof helped him sign the defender this summer.
After getting a chance in Benfica’s first-team setup in the second half of the 2015-16 season, Lindelof had a magnificent 18 months, as he rapidly progressed as a defender and also turned as a real nightmare for the strikers. Looking at his incredible exploits, Manchester United signed him this summer for a reported fee of £30.7m.
Despite the Red Devils boasting a very good defence last season, Mourinho made Lindelof his first summer signing, and many expected that he would be paired with Eric Bailly in the heart of United’s defence straightaway.
However, in stark contrast, Phil Jones has been Bailly’s partner in all of United’s first four games in the Premier League, and Lindelof failed to even make the bench on three of those occasions.
Manchester United brought in four players this summer, and except Lindelof, the other three players have worked under Mourinho previously. There was speculation suggesting that since Mourinho did not know the centre-back as well as his other summer arrivals, he wasn’t giving the Swede a direct entry into his lineups.
But now, the former Porto manager has dismissed the uncertainty surrounding the defender’s future, by stating that he collected plenty of information on Lindelof from his inside sources before signing him, and also added that the youngster would succeed at Manchester United.
Speaking to Sunday times, Mourinho said: “Lindelof was the only one that I didn’t work with [before]. But in Portugal I control. I control inside information. I know the qualities of the people, I know many things about social life, about private life, I know because even without working for that, the information is arriving.”
It is expected that Lindelof will partner Chris Smalling in the Champions League fixture against FC Basel on Tuesday, as Eric Bailly and Phil Jones will face their suspensions against the Swiss side.
Written by Kunal Kambli 
An introverted grammar pedantic who worships football and loves writing about it. Part of the BlameFootball team since 2016.