Chicharito Appreciates Mourinho's Praise Ahead of Return to Old Trafford with West Ham
West Ham striker Javier Hernandez has responded to comments made about him by Jose Mourinho earlier in the week - claiming that he appreciates the Manchester United manager's praise.
Former United forward Hernandez was let go by the club permanently in 2015, moving to Bayer Leverkusen for only £7.3m when Louis van Gaal was in charge of the side. However, the current boss at Old Trafford Mourinho insists that he would never have sold the Mexican poacher.
Speaking ahead of his return to Old Trafford on Sunday, Hernandez responded to the Portuguese manager's praise.
"I appreciate the good words about myself that Mourinho speaks. He’s one of the best managers in the world and it’s motivating for me as a player that a manager like him can say that." He said, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.
Hernandez admitted that he is not sure whether he would celebrate a goal at Old Trafford, and refused to predict how many times he could find the back of the net over the course of the season.
"We’ll see. One thing I don’t want to change, even if I’m 40 years old, is the hunger I have inside me," he added. "It is easy to say now I can score 20 goals or I have a lot of pressure, blah blah blah. Speaking is easy, but the most important thing is to prove myself on the pitch."
Mourinho spoke highly of Hernandez earlier in the week and his admiration of the 29-year-old is obvious.
"He's a good player, he's a player that will always score goals, he is a player that I would always welcome in my squad because he doesn't need many minutes on the pitch to score a goal.
"But no doubt for West Ham to get a player with his experience and quality is very, very good."
