Following the reports that emerged from Spain during the week, even the BBC are now reporting that Manchester United are in talks with Jose Mourinho, and all signs are pointing to the Portuguese taking over from Louis Van Gaal in the summer.
The reaction among United fans has been mixed. Some dislike Mourinho so much as a person so much that they don't want him in charge, and others are worried about his negative tactics and how things ended at Chelsea, but there are positives that his appointment would bring too.
Alex Ferguson was hated by opposition fans too, and one season does not define the career of a man who has had success in every job he has worked as a manager, so we decided to take a look at what he can definitely bring to his potential new employers.
A Touchline Presence
Louis Van Gaal's insistence that he remains seated for the duration of the match is not the reason that Manchester United are losing matches, but you need only look to Alex Ferguson to see how effective having a manager barking out orders and hassling the officials can be for a team.
Jose adopts this policy, perhaps to his detriment in the case of the Eva Carneiro situation, but a manager doing this can make the players feel like he is fighting with them, especially when things aren't going their way. This point was hammered home by Ryan Giggs' actions on the touchline as United lost at home to Norwich in December:
The fans like to see their manager involved, which means Jose will improve the atmosphere at Old Trafford.
A Proven Track Record In Cup Competitions
Manchester United's performance in the FA Cup and Capital One Cup in recent season has been absolutely awful for a club of their size.
David Moyes had never won a trophy, and while Louis Van Gaal may yet win this season's FA Cup (which would render this point invalid to be fair), the current run as been the exception rather than the norm.
A bitter FA Cup exit last year at the hands of Arsenal was wedged between early Capital One Cup exits to lower league opposition this year and last means that Van Gaal's cup record in England has been disappointing. Mourinho on the other hand has won the cup in every job he has had so far, including the League Cup as recently as last year.
Manchester United fans want to see their teams competing for cups again.
A Plan In The Transfer Market
The state of the current Manchester United squad is both lacking in quality and lacking and lacking in depth. Jose Mourinho will make it his mission to solve both of those problems.
Mourinho never allows his squad to run so thin, often at the expense of the fringe players' happiness. We've seen blatant examples of his in the signings of the likes of Andre Schurrle, Mohammad Salah, and Juan Cuadrado, all signings that Jose gave a green light to because he felt he needed options out wide. These players eventually left the club as the likes of Hazard, Willian, and Oscar managed to stay fit and they couldn't get into the side. Had an injury occurred they would have been given playing time, rather than resort to calling up unheard of kids from the youth team in desperation (although Cameron Borthwick-Jackson has done very well to be fair).
The transfer situation at Old Trafford has been like a bad joke since Fergie left. Jose puts an end to that. His aggression in the market and ability to attract top talent that may have been put off by Louis Van Gaal will see signings announced without weeks of on and off speculation.
A Real Rivalry With Arsenal Again
Manchester United vs Arsenal is not what it once was. Of course a major part of that is the difference in personality for both teams compared to the glory days, but Arsene Wenger absolutely hates Jose Mourinho, so finally we will see some fire in this fixture again.
Both sides will know how badly their manager wants to win, so this fixture should be one of the first that the fans of both clubs look for ahead of the new season should the Portuguese get the job at United.
An Impressive Home Record
It's difficult to deny that Jose at Manchester United would give the club something very different. Under Moyes and Van Gaal teams have come to Old Trafford expecting to leave with a win, so in this case Mourinho's terrific home form throughout his career is exactly what the fans will want from their next boss.
Old Trafford could again become a fortress under The Special One. If Mourinho can get off to a good start, then a fear factor not seen since the Fergie days will be back for teams that arrive at Old Trafford.
