Jose Mourinho keen to reunite with Man Utd star he once tipped to become ‘best in the world’ | OneFootball

Jose Mourinho is reportedly plotting an onslaught for his old pupil Casemiro who has recently fell down on the totem pole at Manchester United.

The two men worked together briefly at Real Madrid in 2013, with the Portuguese manager handing the Brazilian his club debut at the time. Their collaboration ended when the Special One was shown the door, but Casemiro went on to become a stalwart for Los Blancos during the reigns of Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane.

Back in his heyday, the 32-year-old was widely considered the best holding midfielder in the world, something that Mourinho had already envisioned.

“[Mourinho told me] ‘I know you, you are good, and you are going to be the best central midfielder in the world’,” revealed the Brazil international in an interview back in 2018.

Moreover, Mourinho reportedly tried to acquire Casemiro’s services during his managerial stint at Man Utd between 2016 and 2018 but to no avail. As fate would have it, the player would then seal a transfer to Old Trafford in the summer of 2022 to join Erik ten Hag’s squad.

However, the defensive midfielder has been enduring a torrid campaign, and now finds himself at the bottom of Ruben Amorim’s pecking order. Even Toby Collyer has seemingly overtaken him in the hierarchy.

Mourinho wants Casemiro to join him at Fenerbahce

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

According to Fichajes.net, Mourinho would be happy to offer Casemiro an escape rope from his Man Utd woes as well as the chance to play regularly at Fenerbahce. The source adds that the Red Devils would certainly facilitate the departure if the player were to express his desire to leave, as they would relish the chance to rid themselves of their highest earner (£350k per week).

The transfer window will remain open in Turkiye until February 11th, so this could be one to keep an eye on in the coming days.