Mourinho in Belgium: Jose Mourinho opened up on his trip to Belgium and the situation with Alexis Sanchez at the club.
Jose Mourinho traveled to Belgium during the international break last week. There were many speculations over the visit, as Mourinho attended the game between Belgium and Iceland in the Nations League.
Manchester United have been relentlessly linked with Belgian defender Toby Alderweireld since the beginning of the summer, and it was earlier speculated that Mourinho attended the game to personally scout the player.
It was also claimed by Belgian media outlets that Mourinho is keen on signing Axel Witsel. However, the Manchester United manager has now clarified the reason for the visit himself.
He also talked about his relationship with Alexis Sanchez, and whether the player is having issues with his managerial style at the club.
Mourinho in Belgium:
The Manchester United manager stated that he was present in Belgium to observe Romelu Lukaku. The striker is having issues at Manchester United at the moment, where his form has been a primary concern.
Lukaku has scored only 4 goals across all competitions in this season, and has been highly inconsistent this season. The player was benched for Marcus Rashford and Alexis Sanchez since his form dipped last month.
The striker has scored five goals in his last four appearances for the national side, but remains goalless since his last 10 games for the club. Lukaku, however, sat out for the game against Iceland as he recovered from a hamstring injury.
“I went, fundamentally, to be with Lukaku, to feel him, to see his situation, his injury,” Mourinho said. The Manchester United manager had previously admitted that the player’s form has been a problem.
“Roberto invited me to meet him, which I decided not to because I don’t like to do disturb people before matches, but I was with Roberto on the phone trying to feel, trying to understand the problem and evolution of the problem,” Mourinho added later.
Jose Mourinho also denied reports claiming Alexis Sanchez’s unhappiness at the club.
“I don’t think so because he never told me that he wants to leave or isn’t happy to stay,” Mourinho said.
“He [Sanchez] is improving like the team is improving, and when he plays he giving us his personality, his desire to play and to produce for the team and trying to adapt to how we play, and vice versa.
“Can he do better? I think we can all do better. I can do better and he can do better and all the other players can also do better.”
