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Matic, Lingard, Rashford and six other Premier League players Jose Mourinho could sign for Roma

After a good first season at Roma, Jose Mourinho is expected to be active in the transfer market this summer, and he is close to landing Nemanja Matic. Which Premier League players could follow him?

One of the most satisfying parts of last season was seeing Jose Mourinho getting his mojo back at Roma, and he is looking a rejuvenated character of late.

After years of seemingly touring the mega-rich clubs and buying immediate success, he has got back to what made his name in the first place: building relationships with emerging and damaged players that see them go above and beyond for him.

Roma finished just seven points outside the Champions League spots in Serie A last season and won the Europa Conference League, so we can expect them to be active in the transfer market this summer.

That may bring Mourinho back to England for a shopping spree and there is no shortage of players who would likely welcome a reunion with him.

Nemanja Matic looks all but certain to be the first Premier League players to link-up with Mourinho at Roma this summer, but it's unlikely he will be the last.

Jesse Lingard

Jesse Lingard will be one of the hottest free agents in the Premier League this summer, but a move abroad may well appeal.

Lingard had some great times under Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, scoring the winner in the FA Cup final under the Portuguese.

Mourinho is not the only familiar face he'd find at Roma either, with Chris Smalling and Tammy Abraham already established at the club, although it appears fellow Englishman Ainsley Maitland-Niles won't be returning after his loan spell from Arsenal.

Steven Bergwijn

It was Mourinho who signed Steven Bergwijn for Tottenham and there appears to be little doubt that the Dutchman will be on the move again this summer.

Bergwijn is, in many ways, the archetypal Mourinho player in that he is dynamic, quick and a very willing runner with a dash of quality about him too.

It hasn't worked out for him at Tottenham under either Nuno Espirito Santo or Antonio Conte since Mourinho left, and Ajax continue to make all the early running to sign him either on loan or a permanent deal this summer. An intervention from Mourinho would certainly give him another option, though.

Harry Winks

Harry Winks perhaps didn't feature as much as he would have liked under Mourinho, but that was probably down to the form of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg more than anything else.

Winks has definitely stagnated at Spurs and, with two years left on his contract, Tottenham are keen to cash in on the 26-year-old this summer.

Mourinho has been complimentary in the past about Winks, saying: "Good player. A player that I like, a player that I need, a player that the squad needs."

That might just have been a manager publicly defending his player, although there are plenty of his other charges who have not received the same kind of endorsement from the former Chelsea boss.

Juan Mata

Juan Mata is another player who will be leaving Manchester United on a free transfer this summer, although he has a bit of a complicated relationship with Mourinho.

Mata initially did not get along with Mourinho at Chelsea, with the Spaniard explaining: "Jose arrived and he had a different way of playing football, or a way that was not perfect for my qualities as a player, and that was it."

However, Mata did manage to prove Mourinho wrong when they were reunited at Man Utd, with the 34-year-old even becoming a go-to man for him in finals.

Serie A is also a lot more technical and less physical too, which would suit an ageing Mata.

Marcus Rashford

If there is one Man Utd player who looks like he is crying out for a change this summer, it's Marcus Rashford. Erik ten Hag could turn out to be that change or it may have to be something a little more drastic.

Although it feels like Rashford has been around forever, he is still only 24 years old so Mourinho would have to find some serious money to sign him.

A loan deal for Rashford, whether to Roma or anywhere else, may be the best solution. He has lost his place in the England squad and no one wants to do that in a World Cup year. At the same time, Man Utd are unlikely to want to give up on him completely.

Staying at Man Utd would be Rashford betting on Ten Hag to reinvigorate him, but perhaps Mourinho will be seen as a safter bet since he has got the best out of the attacker before.

Christian Eriksen

There is a perception that Jose Mourinho and Christian Eriksen had some kind of falling out at Tottenham given the Dane left shortly after the former Real Madrid man arrived. The truth is, though, that Eriksen had already decided to leave.

"From the first day I arrived, he told me he was not going to sign [a new contract]," Mourinho explained. "If he stayed here I think he would always give us something."
Eriksen has recovered from his collapse at Euro 2020 and proven he is still an absolutely top player at Brentford, but his future is uncertain.
He is available on a free transfer this summer and that will be tempting to just about every club out there.
The one major stumbling block here, though, may be a non-footballing one. Eriksen was forced to leave Inter as Italian health regulations prohibited him from playing with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. That would presumably be an issue again, but you never know, especially after proving his fitness again back in England.

Eric Bailly

Eric Bailly was Jose Mourinho's first signing at Manchester United, but it has not always been smooth sailing for the Ivorian at Old Trafford.

He looks certain to be one of the players shipped out to make way for Erik ten Hag's planned revolution, and his best spell at the club definitely came under Mourinho.

He has been linked with a move to Italy with AC Milan mentioned, but you'd be genuinely surprised if Mourinho didn't hold an interest in reuniting with Bailly at Roma if it's at all possible.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Reports in Italy claim Roma plan on strengthening the right-back position this summer as a priority and Aaron Wan-Bissaka has already been linked with a move.

Like Bailly, the England international is believed to be seen as a player who can generate some funds for Man Utd without leaving much of a hole in their squad, so expect him to move somewhere this summer.
Wan-Bissaka never actually played for Mourinho at Man Utd, but he's obviously a player he knows well from his time in England.

READ MORE: Who will follow Paul Pogba out the door as Erik ten Hag's Manchester United clearout continues?

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