Mourinho Surprised Defender With Bad News

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho presently has three candidates for centre of his defence, but Daley Blind is missing from the list.

Daley Blind’s first-team status has already taken a nosedive and the Portuguese tactician has cast more doubts over Blind’s future as a Manchester United centre-half.

The versatile Dutchman has filled in at left-back this season and also partnering with Eric Bailly, Marcos Rojo and Chris Smalling at the heart of the United’s defence at several times.

Blind featured in Manchester United XI for 12 of the opening 16 games, but unfortunately for the 26-year-old, he has only started just two Europa League matches – against Feyenoord and Zorya Luhansk, since the start of November. He was also an unused sub against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Sunday.

When manager Jose Mourinho was making statements about the Phil Jones-Rojo combination with a view ahead to the New Year, he never mentioned Daley Blind as one of the central defense contender.

“They (Jones and Rojo) are playing more than ever, better than ever and now we have a third central defender (Bailly) to rotate,” said Mourinho.

“We gave a rest to Jones in the Ukraine, now Jones plays against Tottenham free of injuries or tiredness. Now we have with Bailly a third central defender until the end of the year, hopefully we can manage with those three in those positions.”