Gary Lineker claims Jose Mourinho's Manchester United move will spark big-money transfers

Gary Lineker thinks Jose Mourinho's arrival at Manchester United could see some of the world's best-known players follow him to Old Trafford. The 55-year-old player-turned-pundit says the Premier League is now home to the world's best managers, and he claims the top players are likely to follow their path in the coming months and years.

Mourinho will compete against the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Arsene Wenger next season, with the Premier League title race already looking like one of the most open in living memory. Lineker claims it is only a matter of time before the best players in the world migrate to England, too.

"Having Mourinho, for example, will help United to attract players," the former Barcelona star said, according to The Mirror. "The Champions League is a massive draw and it is a problem for Manchester United that they are not in it attracting superstars.

"But they are still an enormous club and some players will view it as a chance to join and build something successful. They can perhaps sell it that way."

Lineker said that the unparalleled wealth of the Premier League is bound to be an attraction for prospective signings. "We've got massive new managers coming into the [English] game now," said Lineker, who spent three years at Barcelona in the 1980s. "Guardiola to [Manchester] City. Conte at Chelsea. Klopp is now at Liverpool, Pochettino and Tottenham are growing and Arsenal still have Wenger.

"We are the wealthiest league in the world, so it is only a matter of time before some of the really big stars in world football come to our league. The big managers now are coming here, therefore the big players will follow."

Meanwhile, Lineker revealed he is especially keen to see how Guardiola will cope with the demands of English football, having previously enjoyed trophy-laden spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
"He is clearly a wonderfully gifted coach, isn't he?" he said. "He has gone in to Barcelona and done brilliantly with great players. He has gone into Bayern Munich and done the same.

"City have great players, but not to those levels. He has got to drag them back up there. But from what I hear he is unbelievably meticulous – a brilliant coach. It's going to be an interesting tale to follow."