Jose Mourinho insists he chose Nemanja Matic over Eric Dier

Oli Fisher

Manchester United were interested in signing Eric Dier over the summer, but Jose Mourinho says Nemanja Matic was always the player he “really wanted”.

Old Trafford should witness a fascinating clash between the sides second and third in the Premier League on Saturday as Mauricio Pochettino’s highly-rated side arrive in the north west, albeit without injured star striker Harry Kane.

Dier is likely to be among the starters against a club whose interest in signing him is well documented, with the Tottenham boss saying in his new book that Mourinho’s interest “destabilised” the England international.

Pochettino insists they have moved on from the issue and his United counterpart certainly feels things have worked out well, having instead signed Matic from former club Chelsea for an initial £35million.

“I have the player that I want to have,” Mourinho said of the defensive midfielder.

“Probably I have the player that I didn’t think it was possible to have, but in the end we got the player that I really wanted.”