Mourinho: Lindelof needs time to adapt
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says defender Victor Lindelof needs to be given time to adapt to English football after a disappointing start to his Manchester United career.
Lindelof moved to Old Trafford earlier this summer from Portuguese side Benfica for a fee of £30.7m.
He started last week's UEFA Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid but was dropped for Sunday's Premier League opener against West Ham United and Mourinho insists that people must be patient with the Swede as unlike fellow new arrivals Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic, he has no Premier LEague experience to speak of.
"I think Real Madrid was too early for him. He played because (Phil) Jones and (Eric) Bailly were both suspended," Mourinho explained.
"The difference between Lukaku and Matic is that they have years and years of experience of Premier League.
The Portuguese used the example of Ricardo Carvalho to show that players need time to adapt.
"In 2004 I bought a phenomenal central defender to England, Ricardo Carvalho. He was one of the best central defenders in the last decade in the Premier League," he asserted.
"But he struggled and it was difficult for him to come and adapt in the beginning. Victor needs a little bit of time and he is going to have that time. Let's go step by step because Victor is a fantastic player."
Is Mourinho right? Will Lindelof come good?