Manchester United: Mourinho identifies Barcelona target; bids expected for midfielder; Mkhitaryan speaks out

By Sam Leveridge

Jose Mourinho believes that he may be able to pull off a coup to bring Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic from Barcelona to Old Trafford in a £35 million deal after reports in Don Balon suggest that the creative central midfielder does not feel appreciated by current boss Luis Enrique in Spain.

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There was speculation linking him with the Red Devils in the summer which amounted to nothing, and the Catalans are believed to be hugely reluctant to sell one of their key players despite rumours of a falling out. That said, Mourinho and United may still try to unsettle him further.

The Telegraph claim that Everton and West Brom are both preparing bids of around £20 million for isolated midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, who has not featured for the first team since the beginning of November and has played just 11 minutes of Premier League football this campaign.

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The Frenchman was signed from Southampton two years ago but has failed to impress Jose Mourinho, and may now move on in an attempt to salvage his international career with France as Didier Deschamps considers dropping him.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has spoken out to assure fans that he does not regret his move to Manchester, despite struggling for Premier League minutes with Jose Mourinho seemingly unimpressed by the Armenian. He wrote in the Players’ Tribune:

“At the beginning of this season at United, I suffered an injury and have not had many chances to play. It would be fair to say that the start of my life in Manchester was not perfect. But there have been many other times when I’ve had setbacks, and I have never given up. I will continue working every day so that I can help the team succeed. If you asked my mum and my sisters about me, they would say that I am quite hard. I can be very serious. But if I’m being honest, I’m very happy with the way my life has turned out. It was always my dream to play for the biggest clubs in the world.”

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After impressing against West Ham in the EFL Cup and Feyenoord in the Europa League, there is increasing pressure on Mourinho to allow the former Dortmund playmaker an opportunity in the league.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Ra?it Özdemir.