Manchester United duo Juan Mata and Daley Blind would be the first ones to be axed by new boss Jose Mourinho this summer reports Sky Sports.

After a disappointing campaign last season, the Red Devils brought in Portuguese mastermind Jose Mourinho to help the club recover from its unpleasant times. Mourinho has been appointed on a three year contract at Old Trafford following the sacking of Louis van Gaal.

With a lot of replenishing required at the club, it is expected some of the players will be shown the exit door at Old Trafford and it seems Blind and Mata may have topped the list. Given the relationship between Mourinho and Mata, his exit wouldn’t have come as a surprise to most of the people. The 2 were together at Chelsea in 2013-14 for not more than 6 months and it was Mourinho who engineered Mata’s sale to United back then despite of being named the London club’s player of the season for 2 consecutive years. Mourinho was unhappy with Mata’s work rate and lack of pace and had raised questions if the veteran midfielder would be tactically suitable for his preferred system.

The other one on the blacklist is Daley Blind, one of the few initial signings of Louis van Gaal, first arrived at Old Trafford 2 years ago. The Dutch defender was deployed at numerous positions, showing his versatility, and had been often picked up as a regular choice in the first team. His lack of perseverance may be considered as a concern for Mourinho and is hence letting him go. Mourinho is known to have worked with players having great physical attributes and strength and Blind doesn’t fit into that profile. Recently Blind lashed out on Manchester United’s decision to sack van Gaal at the Netherlands’ training camp in Portugal by saying to the Express –

I always worked well with him and would have been keen that the co-operation lasted longer. A manager who has achieved so much already deserved more respect . Even though there was so much being written about him losing his job over the last months, he always looked to protect and shelter us. It is not easy for a coach if you are repeatedly being fired in the newspapers. Still, we as a squad kept believing in the manager and showed that with our FA Cup win. That we did together for the supporters, the manager and for ourselves. It was in the end a good finish to the season.

While a majority of the Manchester United squad seem to be happy with Mourinho’s incoming, Blind had shown no such signs and is perhaps being let go by the Portuguese coach for having no desire to work together.