Man Utd boss Jose Mourinho has a ’split personality’
She wrote in The Guardian: “Football is full of different characters but there are perhaps none who have a split personality quite like Jose Mourinho, as I can testify from personal experience.
“The mind goes back to the 2014-15 season, when Chelsea won the Premier League title during Mourinho’s second spell there.
“I had just written a column for the BBC praising Jose for bringing a spark back to the club and, as our paths crossed at the training ground at Cobham, he gave me a big hug and thanked me for the kind words.
“There was a smile on the manager’s face and a twinkle in his eye.
Man Utd boss Jose Mourinho is feeling the heat at Old Trafford (Image: GETTY)
“Fast forward to the following season and around the time the Eva Carneiro affair was taking hold.
“Once again Jose and I crossed paths at Cobham; he was leaving the media room as I was entering it to do some media for Chelsea TV.
“’Hi boss,’ I said as we met.
“Mourinho practically blanked me.
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Man Utd boss Jose Mourinho has a 'split personality' says Eni Aluko (Image: GETTY)
“No words this time, no pleasantries, and the type of look that screamed: ‘What are you doing here?’”
Ex-Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has been touted as a potential replacement for Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford.
But European football expert Gabriele Marcotti reckons Antonio Conte - who left Chelsea in the summer - would be a safer bet than Zidane.
However, he insists Conte’s preferred style of football and approach to the press may put off United bigwigs.
“I’ll say this about Zidane,” Marcotti said.
Antonio Conte has been linked with Man Utd (Image: GETTY)
“Zidane was obviously brilliant at Real Madrid with the Champions League, but the Real Madrid job and what he walked into with the players already there, having won a Champions League two years before, it’s very unlike anything else.
“He was there, he knew the club inside out. So in some ways I think there is a logic behind Conte.
“The reason Conte may not be the ideal successor to Mourinho is that I think there are definitely some parallels between him and Mourinho, especially when it comes to being demanding in the transfer market and perhaps making your feelings known.
“Maybe some parallels in the football as well.
“I would imagine that if and when Mourinho goes, and it might not be for a while, I would imagine the club, as clubs often do, would go for a very different type of manager.”