According to The Sun, Manchester United are after three English Premier League players erstwhile boss Jose Mourinho recommended.

Leicester City’s Harry Maguire and West Ham United duo Issa Diop and Declan Rice have all emerged as the Red Devils’ summer transfer targets as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to strengthen his squad ahead of 2019-20.

However, it was Mourinho, who was sacked last December, that laid the groundwork for the pursuit of the trio.

The Portuguese instructed his scouting team to run the rule over Maguire and he was keen on signing the English centre-back last summer.

Rice’s quality also caught the attention of the former Chelsea boss, and he openly showered praises on the scout who discovered Diop.

Solskjaer wants the West Ham duo, but the London Stadium outfit have rebuffed their attempts to secure the players’ services.

Leicester aren’t ready to let Maguire go for anything less than £80 million, while the Hammers have also slapped the same fees on their defensive midfielder.

United’s £45 million bid for Diop, who cost £22 million last summer, has already been knocked back, and they have been told to include Anthony Martial in the deal if they want the French centre-back.

Mourinho is looking to return to management soon, but maybe he might have still been in charge at United had the club heeded his transfer advices.