Thierry Henry is looking forward to seeing Mourinho go up against Pep Guardiola again

Sky Sports football expert Thierry Henry says the appointment of Jose Mourinho as Manchester United manager marks the “start of a new era” for the club.

Mourinho signed a contract to become United boss on Thursday afternoon and Henry believes the Portuguese will offer a massive boost to United and the Premier League.

"I think it's great for the league and great for Manchester United. It's a new era now," he told SSNHQ.

"We all know what Jose Mourinho can do and it was clear they were always going to go for him.

Jose Mourinho will take over at Old Trafford next season

"There's no need to talk about how good he can be, we all know he can be amazing. Everyone now at United is dying for success and that's personally what I associate them with.

"He has a certain way of playing and people might not say it's the United way or be concerned about the youngsters.

"He has to carry on with the young guys that have done well this year - Marcus Rashford, you can't stop that.

"A lot of the time at Real Madrid his teams outscored Barcelona. It's about winning for United at the moment - the fans want instant success and he can give them that."

United's failure to qualify for the Champions League had raised fears they may struggle to sign the players they wanted over the summer.

Mourinho managed former Man Utd favourite Cristiano Ronaldo when he was at Real Madrid

But Henry is convinced the attraction of having Mourinho at the helm, even if he can only offer Europa League football next season, will continue to lure big-name players to Old Trafford.

"Because they haven't made the top four it will have made it more difficult to attract big players but with Mourinho, they can probably now attract the players they want," added Henry.

"It would be a no-brainer to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic. When he goes on the field, he's an animal but out of it he's a class act and so professional.

"He'd be a big success for Manchester United."

Jose Mourinho has been appointed as the Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has been appointed as the Manchester United manager

Former Barcelona player Henry is also intrigued by the renewal of old rivalries between Mourinho and Pep Guardiola - who he played under at the Nou Camp - and who will manage Manchester City next season.

"City and United is already a massive rivalry but even more now with Jose and Pep involved," said Henry.

Thierry Henry believes Pep Guardiola will get the best out of the Manchester City squad Thierry Henry believes Pep Guardiola will get the best out of the Manchester City squad

"It's going to be a nice one and I'm looking forward to it."