• Manager yet to have all of his squad fully fit and available • Alexis Sánchez deletes clothing range tweets after fan backlash

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

José Mourinho retains the full backing of Manchester United’s hierarchy following Sunday’s dismal 3-2 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion.

United beat Leicester City 2-1 at Old Trafford in their opening game of the season but despite following this with the loss to Brighton the board remain behind the manager, it is understood.

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United have also denied that Zinedine Zidane is being targeted as a potential replacement for Mourinho. A senior source told The Guardian: “Why would we discuss Zidane when there is no job available?”

Mourinho is yet to have all of his squad fully fit and available because of injury and post-World Cup breaks, with Alexis Sánchez, Nemanja Matic and Antonio Valencia among the senior absentees on Sunday.

On United’s pre-season tour the Portuguese pointed to the opening two matches as problematic due to the number of players missing because of holidays taken after Russia 2018.

United’s next game is at home to Tottenham Hotspur next Monday, so Mourinho will have had more than a week to prepare for a match where he will be under pressure to record a win.

In January Mourinho signed a contract extension to at least 2020 but he was at loggerheads with the board over signings this summer.

Meanwhile, Alexis Sánchez published a video and photographs on Twitter to promote a new clothing range on Monday – but the tweets were soon deleted as Manchester United supporters complained.



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Fans were quick to question Sánchez’s timing a day after the team’s defeat at Brighton, which the forward missed through injury. No reasons were given for the removal of the tweets but the launch of JJO’s Alexis range could have been put on hold because of the fan response. The player’s representatives have been contacted for comment.

The video showed Sánchez trying on various garments with a female model hiding behind a curtain watching him getting changed.

The advert also showed Sánchez’s naked torso along with the slogan: “More power, more seduction, more attitude, more success, more JJO”.