Herrera Wants ‘Long’ Man United Stay Despite Barca Talk

Ander Herrera has told Sport360 that he is targeting a long stay at Manchester United despite reported interest from Barcelona.

The midfielder has been linked with a move back to Spain to link up with his former Athletic Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde at the Camp Nou.

But after winning United’s Player of the Year award, and helping the team to success in the EFL Cup and Europa League, Herrera says he is happy working under Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford.

He said: “Mourinho is a winner. Three trophies in his first season shows how he works and the way he is and I am really happy playing for him.

“Hopefully I can do it for a long time. I am going to learn, to experience the time with him and try to improve but I can be very thankful for all the managers I’ve had.”

Herrera played under new Barcelona coach Valverde for just one season at Athletic, but he saw enough to believe the 53-year-old will prove a good replacement for Luis Enrique.

Herrera added: “He’s a very smart manager. He doesn’t have one style of football. He adapts himself to the players’ abilities. That’s the most important thing he has.

“Also, the way he treats people, the egos in the club and the team, is very important.

“I was with him for only one year but I really enjoyed it. He is very sincere, very transparent and I think he’s going to be very successful there.”

Herrera is on holiday in Spain after a long season which saw him record 50 appearances.

He is due back at Carrington with the rest of the squad on July 8 before heading to the United States for the preseason tour.

It will feature the first Manchester derby to be played outside England when United and Manchester City meet in Houston on July 20, and Mourinho is already looking forward to it.

“Without the European Championships or the World Cup this summer, I think every club will start the preseason period with all of their players,” Mourinho told the club’s official website.

“I’m going to have the chance to try things and to work on things and [Pep] Guardiola will do the same for sure.

“For me, and probably for him, the result of the game will not be the most important thing but the quality of the football we play and trying to put into practice the things we will work on in the days and weeks before.

“I think for the fans it will be amazing because they have two of the big clubs and it’s a derby.

“Last summer we couldn’t play this game in China but now we will play it in great conditions, the organisation will be at the top level and I think it’s a great opportunity for us and for City to show ourselves in America and to prepare ourselves for the new Premier League season.”

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