Jose Mourinho blamed for losing ‘special’ Manchester United player

Former Manchester United boss, Jose Mourinho, is a figure who has divided opinion through the course of his storied career. It is undeniable that he is one of the most successful managers of all-time and has achieved things that most can only dream of. But then, he also does have his fair share of detractors.

Take his second spell at Chelsea for instance. While the club did win the Premier League under him, he did let go of players like Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Mohamed Salah. And most people would argue that they would have been in a much better position now if the Portuguese manager had never returned.

Over the years, he has had a habit of falling out with world class players and many blame him for failing to promote youth as well. That appears to have been the case during his time at Old Trafford as well.

As reported by Manchester Evening News, former Manchester United youth coach Lee Waddington claims that Josh Harrop would probably still be at the club if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had taken over from Mourinho earlier:

"“He was born and bred in Stockport, just like myself, started coaching him when he was about 5 and look, I would never say that you can see it in a kid when they’re 5 or 6, but he just had something really special.“His technical ability and his ability to get out of tight spots and really do the unusual with a high-level of creativity, underpinned by a real great work ethic.“For me… just my opinion on this… If Mourinho would have been replaced earlier by Ole I think Josh would still be there and would have a big number of Premier League games under his belt but that’s the luck of the draw.”"

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Harrop refused a new contract at Manchester United

To be very honest, Harrop has failed to make his mark in football ever since leaving Old Trafford. Despite finishing as the top scorer for Manchester United’s under-23s side, he moved to Preston North End on a free transfer in 2017 after refusing to sign a new contract with the club. And it is safe to say that the move has not quite worked out.

He has not been great for the Championship side either and currently finds himself on loan at League One side Ipswich, and Harrop is yet to either score or assist for them.

As a result, it is hard to imagine that he would have been a regular in Manchester United’s senior team. But then, it is all about circumstances. Probably he could have ended up as a much better player if he had been regular opportunities when he was first making the jump from the youth sides to senior football. Unfortunately, that did not happen and he is another one of those what could have been stories.