Jose Mourinho drops hint over new assistant manager and says he wants two new Manchester United coaches

The United manager has played down suggestions that Michael Carrick will become his new No 2 after revealing it will be someone who he has worked with in the past

Jose Mourinho revealed his new Manchester United assistant manager will be someone he's worked with before (Getty)

Jose Mourinho has revealed that his new assistant manager will be an individual that he has worked with in the past, as well as confirming that it will not be Michael Carrick despite the Manchester United midfielder retiring to move into a coaching role.

The United manager is seeking a new assistant after Rui Faria announced that he will leave the position after this weekend’s FA Cup final in order to pursue his own managerial ambitions.

Mourinho initially hinted that he will not look to replace Faria, raising the prospect of Carrick moving straight into an assistant role, but the Portuguese has now changed his thinking on the matter and looks set to appoint someone who he has previously worked with.

“It’s a person who worked with me before, but I can’t say the name because he’s still linked to another club,” Mourinho told Portuguese newspaper Record on Thursday.

“Michael Carrick becomes a coach on the pitch, but I’m looking for two new people on the team.”

That has fuelled speculation that Mourinho could be reunited with Aitor Karanka, the current Nottingham Forest manager. The Spaniard could only manage a 17th-place finish with Forest in the Championship this season, and having worked as Mourinho’s No 2 during his time as Real Madrid manager, speculation is rife that Karanka could be the man in Mourinho’s thoughts.

The departure of Faria came as quite the shock, given the 42-year-old Portuguese coach has followed Mourinho to Porto, Inter Milan, Madrid, United and both spells at Chelsea. Having joined forces together at Portuguese side Uniao Leiria 17 years ago, Mourinho delved into detail on why he prefers to have an assistant that can be moulded into his style, as opposed to one who will have their own input on the squad.

“Good coaches there are many, but I like to make my assistants,” he added. “I do not like trained coaches, I like to shape them in my way of thinking and they grow with me and I also grow with them.”