Jose Mourinho set for first day at Manchester United, action swirling in the air

Monday will be Jose Mourinho's first official day on the job at Manchester United, as he takes over at a club in flux and already bearing his fingerprints.

Jose Mourinho. Jasper Juinen / Getty Images

Jose Mourinho on Monday will set about rebuilding his and Manchester United's reputation on his first official day as manager.

The 53-year-old self-proclaimed "Special One", who announced himself to English football when winning in the Champions League round of 16 at Old Trafford with FC Porto 12 years ago, was appointed successor to Louis van Gaal in May.

United won the 2015/16 FA Cup under the Dutchman, but finished only fifth in the Premier League.

Mourinho began last season at Chelsea as defending champions, but departed last December in acrimony.

He will aim to show there is no lasting stain on his reputation by bidding to transform the United squad, with two new signings expected to be followed by a number of others.

Eric Bailly and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are set to be joined by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the Armenia midfielder who is to sign from Borussia Dortmund.

Paul Pogba could also return to Old Trafford, the France midfielder having been jettisoned by Sir Alex Ferguson before thriving at Juventus.

Pogba, who would reportedly cost a world record fee in the region of £100 million (Dh488m), is an example of Ferguson losing faith in young talent.

But one nurtured so well by the Scot has now left Manchester United after 29 years. Ryan Giggs departed last week to pursue his managerial career, having previously warned United must continue to develop youth players.

Mourinho will likely defend his record at promoting youth when he is unveiled as manager, but he will be expected to show his faith in Marcus Rashford and others on the pitch.

As well as incomings, there will be outgoings, but goalkeeper David de Gea is among those Mourinho will be determined to keep.

Juan Mata will be wondering what the future holds after being sold by Mourinho to United when he was at Chelsea.

Mkhitaryan appears likely to join prior to Mourinho’s first match in charge, in Shanghai against the Armenian’s current employers Dortmund on July 22.

The first contest between Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and Mourinho's United takes place in Beijing on July 25.

The pair endured a fractious rivalry while Mourinho in charge at Real Madrid and Guardiola led Barcelona.

Mourinho won La Liga with Real in 2012 before Guardiola's sabbatical and will hope he can continue to win the duel between the pair.

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