The rumours surrounding Yerry Mina and a move from FC Barcelona to Manchester United refuse to go away this morning, particularly as United’s move for Harry Maguire appears to have stalled.
Although Jose Mourinho has many first-team centre-backs to call upon in Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof, Marcos Rojo and Eric Bailly, it is an area that clearly still concerns the Portuguese manager.
Mourinho, following United’s 4-1 defeat to Liverpool in the International Champions Cup, lashed out at United’s transfer policy to date – a policy that has seen only Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant arrive at Old Trafford.
In his post-match press conference, Mourinho said:
“I would like to have two more players,
I think I am not going to get two. I think that it’s possible I will have one. I gave a list to my club of five names a few months ago and I wait to see if it’s possible to have one of these players. If it’s possible, it’s possible. If it’s not, it’s not. If it’s possible, it’s good. If not then we keep fighting and working and believing in the players that we have.”
Mourinho believes United are “in trouble” with the new Premier League season approaching given the number of absentees he has due to the World Cup and injury.
There is clearly a feeling of discontent around Jose Mourinho, something that is quite familiar to people who have followed his career.
With this in mind, and if Mourinho is on his traditional path of implosion when things are becoming difficult at a club is it a sensible move for a player like Yerry Mina to make?
Sky Sports Spanish football expert David Garrido, the founder of La Liga Lowdown, feels Mina could be making a mistake if he does make the move from Catalonia.
“Yerry Mina wasn’t particularly heralded when he became the first Colombian player to join Barcelona – his displays were not assured and the 5-4 defeat to Levante away from home, one of his four starts, was particularly questionable.”
Mina had started at centre-back in Barcelona’s sole La Liga defeat last season.
Garrido continued, “however, his reputation has been restored somewhat by his performances at the World Cup, and of course his goals. But a move from the Camp Nou to Old Trafford may just be one from frying pan into the fire unless he adapts quickly to English football.”
Of course, it isn’t just adapting to English football that could be the issue for Yerry Mina if he does make the move from Barcelona to Manchester United. Adapting to an out-of-sorts Jose Mourinho is a challenge that many a seasoned professional struggle to do, let alone a young defender with only four starts in European leagues under his belt.
Equally, can United afford to bring in another young defender who might need time to settle? Victor Lindelof, another player who went some way to restoring his reputation in Russia, was unable to nail down a regular starting position under Mourinho who is still a manager quick to lose faith and trust in a player if they do not hit the ground running.
Yerry Mina to Manchester United? Proceed with caution (on both sides of the fence).
