Manchester United round-up: Mourinho praises Zlatan hat-trick; Rodriguez discusses move; target suggests lack of contract talks

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Despite all eyes being on Paul Pogba as he lined up against his brother at Old Trafford last night, it was Zlatan Ibrahimovic who stole the show as the Swede scored a memorable hat-trick. Jose Mourinho praised his striker as he told MUTV:

“He has scored so many hat-tricks in his career but this is a first for Manchester United. We know that it is more difficult in England, we know clearly that it is fantastic for him, but the important thing is the result and the important thing is that we managed a clean sheet at home, which is important, and to score three goals is a good advantage for us. We can try to manage with that.”

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With the tie seemingly settled already, given their three-goal lead heading into the second leg against Saint Etienne, Mourinho can now consider resting some of his superstars in the return fixture.

However, it seems that one world superstar will not be on his way to Manchester as reported target James Rodriguez has spoken to the press to explain how he is now happy at Real Madrid, as the Sun quote him as saying:

“I think everything is going well. Madrid are a big club and I always wanted to be here. Good and bad things always happen but I want to stay here for a lot longer. I always train to play and I want to be here. You always want to play. Now that I have more game time, everything is slowly changing.”

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The Colombian started in a surprise move from Zinedine Zidane as the Spanish side beat Napoli by three goals to one at the Bernabeu on Wednesday evening, with the playmaker seemingly happy to accept a role as a rotation option at the club.

On the other hand, another player to be linked with the club is West Ham’s Michail Antonio. The versatile winger has encouraged speculation by telling Sky Sports:

“Right now, nothing is really happening on the contract talks. We’ll just see how things go. At the moment my head is not being swayed in any way. I just want to play my football and whatever happens happens. We’ll see.”

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It seems unlikely that United will make a move for him in the summer, given his age and lack of experience at the very top level, but he could be a reserve option given his fine form this season and his homegrown status which could prove valuable in European competitions.

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