Mikael Silvestre reckons Mesut Ozil would be a bad fit for Manchester United and that he “wouldn’t last long” at the club under Jose Mourinho.
Ozil is out of contract with Arsenal at the end of the season and has been linked with a move to United. The German midfielder has yet to sign a new deal with his current club, and can to leave for free next summer if an agreement can’t be reached, leading to speculation that Arsenal could sell him in January.
Ozil joined the Gunners from Real Madrid in 2013 in a transfer worth £42.5m. According to recent reports, United will make a move for him and are confident of completing a deal because of the strong relationship between their manager and the player.
However, a former United defender has claimed that the club shouldn’t try sign the World Cup winner. Silvestre, who played for United between 1999 and 2008, before a two year spell with Arsenal, has suggested that Ozil would be a bad fit for United, and that Mourinho wouldn’t accept the player’s current “attitude.”
“I think he would have to change his attitude,” he told beIN sports.
“I think it’s mainly when the team loses the ball. The first few seconds in reaction, that’s when the coaches want you to get up and try to recover as quickly as possible, be that man to block and try to stop your opponent. And his transitions sometimes, he looks like, ‘Okay we lost the ball now and I’ve got to run back now because I’m Arsenal’, but sometimes it doesn’t look like he is interested.
“So, at United he wouldn’t last long – especially with Jose. If you put players into categories, I would put him in the with Mkhitaryan and Mata, so you already have two players like this – technical, good vision, proper playmakers. So why would you sign another? You don’t need to pile these types of players.”
Silvestre is probably correct to ask if United need another playmaker, but his comment that Ozil wouldn’t last under Mourinho because “sometimes it doesn’t look like he is interested” couldn’t be more wrong. Mourinho is a huge fan of the player.
When he was appointed Real Madrid manager in 2010, Mourinho signed Ozil from Werder Bremen and they experienced success together at the Bernabeu. Ozil recorded an incredible 24 assists in his first season and Real won the league in 2012, breaking the dominance of Barcelona.
A few months after Mourinho left for Chelsea in 2013, Ozil joined Arsenal. They remain on good terms and Mourinho wrote the foreword for Ozil’s autobiography.
The midfielder seems like he would be exactly the type of player Mourinho would sign, as he trusts him and knows exactly what he can bring to his team.
You can watch Silvestre here:
If @MesutOzil1088 moves to @Manutd he would have to "change his attitude". Here's @IamMSilvestre on the rumored transfer. #MUFC #AFC #PL pic.twitter.com/ZhlmCgiAOT
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) October 23, 2017
