It has been a tough start to life as Manchester United manager for Jose Mourinho.

The former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss took over from Louis van Gaal in the summer, and he was tipped to bring the good times back to Old Trafford after a few years of disappointment since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

And, having won his first three league matches, and indeed the Community Shield, it looked like United were prepped for a title challenge.

But it hasn’t gone too well since the last of those three victories.

United have won just one of their last seven Premier League matches, and have suffered unsatisfactory defeats at the hands of Manchester City and Chelsea in that run.

They sit eighth in the table, eight points adrift of joint-leaders City, Arsenal, and Liverpool, and, although they are through to the quarter-finals of the League Cup and performing solidly in the Europa League, United fans want to see better performances in the league from their side.

As a result, Mourinho may have already started looking at who he might bring in during the January transfer window, and could look at a few Premier League players to bolster his squad.

Thus, here are TWO Chelsea players who could rejoin Mourinho at Old Trafford in January…

Branislav Ivanovic

Out of favour and seemingly on his way out of Stamford Bridge, could Branislav Ivanovic reunite with Mourinho at Manchester United in January?

The Serbian international has struggled for form this season under new boss Antonio Conte, and has not started for the Blues since their 3-0 defeat at Arsenal at the end of September.

With Conte now moving to a back three, and seeking defensive reinforcements in January, it’s likely that Ivanovic’s eight-year stay at Stamford Bridge is coming to an end, especially given that his contract is up in the summer.

However, Ivanovic was a stalwart in Chelsea’s defence under Mourinho, and got into the PFA Team of the Year and Champions League Team of the Year in 2014/15, the season Chelsea won the league.

Thus, with full-back an area of concern for Mourinho at United, he could move for the 32-year-old in January.

Oscar

On his day, Oscar is as good a playmaker as any in the Premier League, but we just haven’t seen those days much in the last few years.

He struggled for form under Mourinho last season at Chelsea, and was played very little by interim boss Guus Hiddink, and those trends have continued into this campaign under Antonio Conte.

Oscar started Chelsea’s first five Premier League games, but has appeared just once in their most recent five, and it looks like, with Conte tweaking the system at Stamford Bridge, his chances are going to get more restricted.

Mourinho placed a lot of faith in Oscar at the start of his second spell at Chelsea, playing him in the number ten role, and preferring him to twice player of the season Juan Mata, who he then subsequently sold.

He clearly rates him highly and, although he didn’t perform great last season, Mourinho may be able to get the best out of him again at United.