Manchester United Transfer News: Willian Targeted by Jose Mourinho, Top Rumours

Jose Mourinho is reportedly targeting a reunion with Chelsea star Willian at Manchester United, and the Brazilian is understood to be "keen" on the idea of playing under his former manager again.

Per BBC Sport's Simon Stone, despite image-rights issues, Mourinho is set to be appointed as the new United manager as a replacement for the departed Louis van Gaal. Once in charge, he is expected to enter the transfer market in order to bolster the Red Devils' underperforming squad.

According to Shaun Custis in the Sun, Mourinho "knows he will have to double" the £30 million fee he paid to sign Willian from Anzhi Makhachkala when at Chelsea in 2013, but the Portuguese is eager for the forward to join his Old Trafford "revolution."

Custis added the 27-year-old also wants a reunion with Mourinho, but though Willian praised his former manager as "special" and said he had "a great relationship with him," he refused to be drawn on whether he would move to United.

"I don’t think about that," the player said. "I’m here on Copa America duty with Brazil and I’m not here to do interviews about other things."

When asked whether he was in talks with Chelsea over a new deal, Willian said: "That is something my agent deals with."

Willian's deal with the Blues has two years left to run, and it seems highly unlikely Chelsea would be prepared to sell him to a direct Premier League rival, not least because he was one of their few high-performing players in 2015-16.

Indeed, the Blues would "block any attempts" by Mourinho to sign Willian, or any other players from his former club, per Simon Johnson in the Evening Standard.

During Chelsea's disastrous opening to last season—which saw Mourinho fired in December with the Blues sitting one point above the relegation zone—Willian was one of the only bright lights in the squad.

He continued his good form throughout the campaign, and Chelsea acknowledged his contribution to the side at the club's end-of-season awards, per Bleacher Report UK:

He would add some verve and creativity to a United attack that registered the club's lowest goal tally (49) in Premier League history last season, per the BBC's Francis Keogh:

With Willian on the right wing and Anthony Martial on the left, United would be dangerous down the flanks—always a trademark in the Sir Alex Ferguson era—and they may even have striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 34, to supply, with Custis reporting that Mourinho is "closing in on a deal to land [the] Swedish superstar."

As noted by Bleacher Report's Dean Jones and Sam Tighe, despite the 18-year-old Marcus Rashford's exciting and impressive emergence in the second half of 2015-16, United are lacking a top-quality, experienced striker, and Ibrahimovic could be just the man they need to give them a short-term boost:

With Willian potentially also arriving at Old Trafford, United would have a threatening attack capable of scoring prolifically again, with Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard also likely to be more successful in such a system.

However, as hinted by football writer Nooruddean Choudry, the chances of United being able to prise Willian away from Chelsea seem minimal:

Ibrahimovic is a realistic target, as his Paris Saint-Germain contract expires in June, and he is reportedly "eager" to move to United. The forward also has an excellent relationship with Mourinho, per Sky Sports' Nick Wright, after the pair worked together at Inter Milan.

Willian, though, is still contracted to Chelsea and—as it would likely be with Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool if United were to go after any of their players—there seems little chance the Blues would be willing to help Mourinho in his quest to rebuild the Premier League's greatest superpower.