Two high-profile Manchester United stars set for summer exit - report

If you take the photograph above as some kind of pictorial metaphor, Juan Mata and Daley Blind are, respectively, Juan Mata and Daley Blind, while Watford's Étienne Capoue is José Mourinho's Manchester United. (Yes, we're quite happy with our photo selection.) That, at least, is according to Sky Sports and their fairly loathsome reporter Andy Burton, who this morning bring us an article entitled: Daley Blind and Juan Mata set for Manchester United exit this summer - Sky sources.

Of course, we have no idea who said sources are, and the real juicy info is confined to two short, uncited paragraphs:

Neither Mata nor Blind are expected to feature in Mourinho's plans for the forthcoming season as he builds a team, which he believes, can win the Premier League.

It is understood Mourinho would approve the sale of both players this summer should United receive acceptable bids, with the expectation he can sign players to directly replace them.

But that isn't to say the report is wide of the mark. Indeed, it's common knowledge by now that Mourinho likes his players either strong or quick (and preferably both). Neither Mata nor Blind are either of these things. United have been strongly linked to players in both positions; and we'd bet that Mourinho would rather André Gomes and Grzegorz Krychowiak than the attacking midfield-defensive midfield pairing currently represented by Mata and Blind. As for Blind as a defender, don't make José laugh ...