Jose Mourinho knows time is short. The next Premier League campaign is less than a month away and there is lots of work to be done.
The new United boss oversaw a 2-0 preseason win over Wigan, on Saturday, and reserved his highest praise for young players Andreas Perreira and Axel Tuanzebe.
Mourinho appears willing to use young players around the fringes of a compact senior squad that some outlets are reporting could contain just 24 players.
Youth in reserve, reserves on loan. That is way of it with Mourinho and he is pushing two utility players out on loan.
Guillermo Varela is set for a season-long loan deal, with a view to a 2017 purchase, at Eintracht Frankfurt. Marcos Rojo may also be leaving the club, for a season at least. Between them, Varela [7] and Rojo [21] made 28 appearances in the United defence last season.
According to the Mail on Sunday, the Spanish side Villarreal are interested in the Argentine, who battled with injury and ill form last season. United are said to be unwilling to supplement Rojo’s salary if he heads to La Liga but they may have to row back on that if they are to shift him at all. He is believed to be on £140,000 a week.
Mourinho has been linked with Monaco and Brazil right-back Fabinho and the club are set to offer Jesse Lingard an improvement on his £40,000 a week contract.
Time is ticking but the wheels are already in motion at Old Trafford.
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