Chelsea winger Willian has hinted he would be open to signing for Manchester United by saying he wants to work with Jose Mourinho again.
Willian and Mourinho won a pair of Premier League titles at Stamford Bridge and the Brazil international has been linked with a switch to Old Trafford.
Mourinho is keen to bolster United’s attacking options ahead of Thursday’s transfer deadline, with Inter’s Croatia star Ivan Perisic also reportedly a target.
Willian has suggested he would be happy to stay at Chelsea for the 2018-19 but the 29-year-old has left the door ajar for a reunion with Mourinho.
“Sometimes we talk, we text, we send messages to each other via WhatsApp. He is a great manager, I really enjoyed working with him. I hope I can work with him again someday.”
Barcelona have reportedly had a series of offers for Willian rejected by Chelsea, but the attacker cleared up the speculation.
“I don’t know if there was any official bid [from Manchester United], but some things have happened,” he said.
“Also, everything comes out on the internet, too. But Mourinho talks to my agent all the time, he says ‘bring him, bring him’. No, he has never called me, but he always sends me text messages.
“But I am very happy at Chelsea, I want to stay in the club. I also like living in London, it is an amazing city, and my family is well adapted. So yeah, I intend to stay at Chelsea.”
Manchester United face a “difficult season” unless they strengthen their squad before Thursday’s transfer deadline, says manager Jose Mourinho.
The Red Devils ended their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 defeat at German champions Bayern Munich on Sunday.
Javi Martinez headed home a second-half winner to give Bayern victory in a match they dominated.
“My CEO knows what I want and I still have a few days to wait and see what happens,” Mourinho said on MUTV.
“The other clubs who compete with us are really strong and already have fantastic teams. Or they are investing massively like Liverpool, who are buying everything and everybody.
“If we don’t make our team better it will be a difficult season for us.”
United have so far signed three players this summer – Brazil midfielder Fred for £47m, Portuguese defender Diogo Dalot and third-choice goalkeeper Lee Grant.
They open the Premier League season against Leicester City at Old Trafford on Friday.