Manchester United know from experience that, around this time of year, getting on the wrong side of Jose Mourinho can be like poking a bear with a stick.
The preening Portuguese barely wasted an opportunity to tell anyone who would listen just how unhappy he was with the Red Devils’ transfer market activity during a rather tense pre-season back in 2018.
“One thing is what I would like. Another thing is what is going to happen,” Mourinho said at the time, per Sky Sports, not the first and not the last Manchester United manager to be left frustrated by the Glazer’s infamously snail-pace approach to recruitment.
So, Fenerbahce be warned.
Mourinho is never afraid to air his grievances very publicly. If Fener president Ali Koc goes back on his word and caves in amid reported interest from none other than Man United in talented full-back Ferdi Kadioglu, he can probably expect the same treatment Ed Woodward and co received back in 2018.
“Our president wants our club to develop, not to regress,” Mourinho tells Hurriyet this week. “This means keeping the best players, not selling them. The top priority is to get the players we have back to the team.
“This will happen step by step.”
- READ MORE: Manchester United confirmed signings, transfers in, out, loan exits, releases for 2024/25
Manchester United like Turkey star Ferdi Kadioglu
Keeping Kadioglu, however, may be easier said than done. Even if Fenerbahce have adopted a hardline stance about the futures of their star men.
Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, viewed by many as perhaps the most reliable source for transfers in all of Turkish football, reported on via Sport Digitale on X that Man United have now shown ‘serious interest’ in the buccaneering left-back after his standout performances at Euro 2024.
“Manchester United is seriously interested in Ferdi Kadioglu,” Sabuncuoglu says. “They haven’t officially contacted the club or are ready to make an offer yet but he is officially on their list.
“They will meet with the player’s side in the coming days to ask him about joining the club.”
Man United are certainly not the only club looking at Kadioglu.
Sabuncuoglu adds that there is interest from Borussia Dortmund and Brighton and Hove Albion. HITC, meanwhile, reported a few months back that Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur had also been paying attention to the £17 million-rated 24-year-old.
While Kadioglu has made his name in Turkey, it will not go unnoticed by Man United supporters that the Dutch-born flyer actually started his career in the Netherlands with NEC Nijmegen.
While Erik ten Hag no longer has quite so much control over recruitment these days, United have continued to pursue players with an Dutch connection. Matthijs de Ligt – Ten Hag’s former Ajax captain – is expected to arrive at Old Trafford alongside Bologna forward Joshua Zirkzee sooner rather than later.
A Dutch flavour to United’s summer business
A right-footed full-back who plays on the left – the Turkish Denis Irwin anyone? – Kadioglu could potentially kill two birds with one stone if he was to end up at Man United.
The Red Devils want a left-back. A right-back may also be required if Aaron Wan-Bissaka leaves, and the verstile Kadioglu could fill both roles in Ten Hag’s roster.
Furthermore, while Mourinho is clearly determined to retain Fenerbahce’s prized assets as he prepares to launch an assault on Galatasaray’s throne, United may have an ace up their sleeve in the shape of one Victor Lindelof.
Per The Telegraph, Lindelof has held talks over a deal that would see him reunite with the man who brought him to England from Benfica.
Perhaps there is a world in which United could swap Kadioglu for Lindelof, while keeping Mourinho’s forked tongue in check.