Jose Mourinho was sacked by Manchester United coming up four years ago - and yet the charismatic Portuguese continues to have a lasting impact at Old Trafford and beyond.
Love him or loathe him, Mourinho remains the last manager to bring silverware back to the club as Erik ten Hag and his revamped squad hope to end that hoodoo this season. Backed during the summer window, Ten Hag welcomed in six players, while several have already started to make a major impact on the team.
Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez have quickly become mainstays in the starting XI as Antony made the perfect first impression against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon. Casemiro, meanwhile, is on standby for his big chance after signing from Real Madrid.
READ MORE: Martinez showed his class vs Sociedad
Martin Dubravka is there to provide competition for David de Gea and offset Dean Henderson leaving on loan with one Mourinho signing - Diogo Dalot - remaining unchallenged for the right-back position. Dalot's worth to the United cause has been emphasised either side of the summer window just passed.
Dalot, 23, had not been at Old Trafford for 12 months when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - who succeeded Mourinho as the club's manager - sanctioned a £50million swoop for Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Since then, the pecking order has gone full circle and Mourinho has once again been proved right when it comes to (at least) one position.
Speaking about Dalot shortly after signing him from Porto in 2018, ex-United and current Roma manager, Mourinho, tipped his €22million recruit for the top. Four years later, Dalot is starting to live up to that sky-high tag.
Mourinho said: "He has the attributes that a full-back needs - physicality, tactical intelligence and technical quality, combined with a Porto Academy mentality which prepares players for the maturity they need at professional level.
"In his age group, he's the best full-back in Europe and we all believe he has a bright future ahead of him." After reclaiming his place in the United starting XI, Dalot is now well on his way to proving his former boss right - and United can be grateful for the Portuguese manager's foresight in bringing his compatriot to the club.
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