Paul Scholes Hits Out at Jose Mourinho's Comments on West Ham Summer Signing
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has criticised Jose Mourinho for praising West Ham's scouts over their acquisition of defender Issa Diop, calling it a 'needless swipe' at his own recruitment staff.
The Hammers signed Diop, 21, from Toulouse this summer for £22m – the central defender going some way to repaying that fee in last month's 3-1 win over Manchester United.
His performance led Mourinho to laud the defender as a 'monster' and commend the recruitment process which landed Diop at the London Stadium.
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In an interview with ESPN this week, Scholes hit out at the remarks amidst the pressure continuing to mount over Mourinho during United's worst ever start to a league campaign.
“I didn’t like the manager praising West Ham’s chief scout after the defeat there and congratulating him on finding [Issa] Diop," Scholes said.
"It was a massive dig at his own scouts. If you’re a scout at Manchester United, how can you know what type of player to look for when the manager is changing his team every week and his formation all the time?
"Where’s the blueprint for the player you want? It must be an impossible job,” he added.
The comments from Scholes continue to shine a light on a struggling Mourinho, but the former midfielder insisted that the Portuguese is a great manager despite his recent troubles.
He added: "He still is [a great manager]. Well, I think he still is, but you wonder why his side keep getting outplayed. People talk about the first ten games of this season but last year it was the same.
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"The reason we finished second last year was because of the goalkeeper. Good goalkeepers are not easy to find. [David] De Gea's not been quite as good this season, not saving them all like did all last year."
The Red Devils have an opportunity to rein in one of their top of the table counterparts when they face Chelsea on Saturday, but they also face the risk of falling 13 points behind the leaders with just nine games on the board should they be defeated at Stamford Bridge.
