Five reasons why Jose Mourinho wants Justin Kluivert back at AS Roma

The Portuguese will look to work with the exciting young winger when he joins the Giallorossi next season.

Jose Mourinho will take over the position of head coach at AS Roma from next season onwards. The former Manchester United manager was recently dismissed from his role at another Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. This will be the ninth club that Mourinho will be in charge of.

The Portuguese will taste Serie A football for the second time in his career, having coached Inter Milan before. The tactician will have his hands full in guiding his new club to the top, given the level of competition in the league. The 58-year-old will get a chance to work with several talented players, but most notably Justin Kluivert.

The winger is currently on a loan at Bundesliga side RB Leipzig and will return once the season is over. The new boss looks set to work with the talented young player and reportedly wants him to join the parent club post the completion of the loan. 

Given the scenario, here are the five reasons why Mourinho wants Justin Kluivert back:

Heavy on potential

Justin Kluivert is still 22-years-old and has played for teams like AFC Ajax, AS Roma and RB Leipzig. He has also heavily featured for the Netherlands’ developmental sides. In short, Kluivert has a promising career ahead of him.

The Dutch international gained vital experience playing with RB Leipzig under Julian Nagelsmann during his ongoing loan spell. He will return to the Serie A with more maturity and growth. Mourinho could help the attacker reach the next stage in his development and tap into the sea of untapped potential.

Past experience of Serie A football

Justin Kluivert has a lot of experience playing in Italy’s first-division. He made the move to AS Roma back in July 2018. The youngster was a sought after figure among the elite European clubs but surprisingly chose Roma among other options.

Kluivert has featured around 53 times in the Serie A, the most number of appearances he has made in any league yet. The player understands the demands of the competition and could prove vital in the early stages for Mourinho, when he takes over the reins. Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s potential exit makes Kluivert a direct replacement in the wide channels. 

Old connections

Jose Mourinho and Justin Kluivert go way back. The former came in contact with the latter during his time at FC Barcelona as a trainer. Patrick Kluivert, Justin’s father, was a player at the La Liga giants during the time Mourinho was an assistant manager to Louis Van Gaal and Sir Bobby Robson. 

Justin came across Mourinho since he was a little kid and the tactician monitored the player’s growth from his younger days. The possible link-up between the two is definitely mouth-watering for the Roma fans, who would hope this partnership could bear fruits in the long run.

Past admiration

Jose Mournho has shown an interest in working with Kluivert in the past too. Back when he was the head coach at Manchester United, he tried to sign the winger, who instead went to the Serie A. After the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League final between Manchester United and AFC Ajax, the gaffer spoke at length with the winger who was part of the losing side.

Kluivert later revealed that Mourinho was simply catching up. However, reports from English media suggested that the Red Devils made an attempt to secure the winger. Clearly, Mourinho is fond of the player and will look forward to finally working with him.

Focal point of a rebuild

One of the challenges Jose Mourinho will tackle at AS Roma is to guide the club through a transitional phase. The squid is full of stars of yesterday like Pedro, Edin Dzeko and more. The squad needs a rebuild and must start to challenge teams like Napoli, Lazio and Atalanta alongwith the usual suspects in Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan. 

Jose Mourinho is known to trust talented players and build a team around them. Marcus Rashford grew leaps and bounds under Mourinho and the same could be in store for Justin Kluivert. 

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