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Jose Mourinho wants to deal Manchester United a bitter transfer blow

By Rucker Haringey

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 25: Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho talks to assistant Joao Sacramento during the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur at St. Mary's Stadium on January 25, 2020 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 25: Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho talks to assistant Joao Sacramento during the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur at St. Mary's Stadium on January 25, 2020 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) /
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Jose Mourinho didn’t leave Manchester United on good terms. That may be one reason why he wants Tottenham defeat his old club in the transfer market.

Tottenham and Manchester United are locked in a transfer duel over the services of Leicester City striker Islam Slimani. If you think the matter is entirely unrelated to Mourinho’s time in charge of affairs at Old Trafford, then you clearly haven’t paid any attention to his managerial career.

French sources insist that the pair of Premier League clubs are locked in tense negotiations with Leicester City over Slimani’s services. The Algerian striker isn’t featuring for the Foxes this season. Instead, Brendan Rodgers and the higher-ups at Leicester have chosen to send him out on loan to Monaco.

Evidently the particulars of his loan won’t prevent him from finding a new Premier league home this month. Manchester United see him as a potential stop-gap replacement for Marcus Rashford. Spurs see him as the same sort of cover for Harry Kane. Both clubs have strong motivation to add Slimani to their attacking options.

Mourinho has the added motivation to deal a cruel transfer blow to his old employers. That isn’t Tottenham’s chief reason for chasing Slimani, but it’s a nice added bonus for their Portuguese manager. Mourinho would like nothing more than to pip United for a player with the potential to really help both clubs down the stretch of the current campaign.

Slimani isn’t going to drastically impact either club’s long-term dreams and aspirations. He’s a solid target man but he’s nowhere near the world-class striker that both teams covet. Slimani would arguably have a bigger impact at Tottenham at the moment given their complete lack of options to lead the line. Lucas Moura has gotten several games as a No. 9 in Kane’s absence but he’s completely failed to make a real impact for his club.

The interesting question is whether or not Leicester City can leverage the acrimony between Mourinho and United to their financial benefit. Neither party is going to fancy the idea of losing a battle to the other. The Foxes would do well to encourage a bidding war between their two Premier League rivals.

Next. Bergwijn could be shrewd purchase for Tottenham. dark

Nonetheless, expect Mourinho to tweak United in the press over Slimani no matter what happens. If he wins the race for his services he’ll gloat about the attraction of his project at Tottenham. If United win the race for Slimani then Mourinho will mock them for celebrating the signing of a 31-year-old Premier League outcast. No matter what it will be great theater for football fans around the globe.

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