One of the likely key rivalries of the forthcoming English Premier League season kicks off today, at the Bird’s Nest as new Manchester rivals Guardiola and Jose Mourinho face off with City and United.
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David De Gea believes Manchester United can challenge for the title under Jose Mourinho.
The Frenchman is widely expected to make a world-record move to Manchester United in the coming days, with his name even spotted on a tactics board in Jose Mourinho’s office.
Ibrahimovic is among the handful of first-team players absent from United’s short, if testing, pre-season tour of China.
“But we have had 10 days of work, people are really exhausted and the match is against high quality opposition who are in a much more advanced stage of their preparation”. I’m pretty sure they will be stronger than in previous years.
“We want very aggressive players in midfield, we want to have the ball but not just have the ball”.
United’s China trip got off to an embarrassing start, however, when Borussia Dortmund outclassed them 4-1 in a friendly in Shanghai last week.
Speaking about Rooney, Mourinho has revealed he really trusts the Englishman and will play a vital role in his squad.
“It’s nearly like a free role and I am excited to play it”, said Rooney.
“It’s a different way of playing, a different manager, different ideas and if I can bring my game and qualities to this team, then I know I can create chances and score goals”.
It will be the first time Mourinho and Pep Guardiola will have met since taking over the two Manchester clubs and the first Manchester derby to be played overseas. It is really insane, but it is good for us.
“We have had quite a lot of change over the last few years”, he added.
He’s an extremely versatile player who will provide Mourinho with plenty of options as they head into the new campaign and after his comments we could be looking at an Ibrahimovic-Rooney combination up front.
John Aldridge picks his Liverpool dream team for the new season and suggests boss Jurgen Klopp does not need to spend too much more in the transfer market, while John Brennan asks whether Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will finally make the signings he needs to turn his Gunners into champions.
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Despite the plan being not to play on the tour Rooney signalled he may be involved against Manchester City in Beijing tomorrow.
