Mourinho: Hernandez would´ve scored 20 goals for United

Jose Mourinho claims former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez would have scored “20 goals easy” at Old Trafford this season as the club’s forwards continue to struggle.

United are the least prolific side among the top seven teams in the Premier League with just 43 goals in 29 matches – 10 fewer than Everton.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has taken England by storm with 27 goals in all competitions, 16 of those coming in the Premier League, but the veteran Swede has shouldered a heavy burden, with Juan Mata United’s next-best scorer with 10.

Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba have netted seven goals apiece, while out-of-form captain Wayne Rooney has five.

And as sixth-placed United prepare to travel to Sunderland on Sunday, manager Mourinho said he needs a poacher like Bayer Leverkusen’s Hernandez, who scored 59 goals in all competitions during his six seasons at the Theatre of Dreams.

“I think clearly if you go for example for Paul Pogba, the number of times he’s hit the posts are almost Guinness Book of Records,” Mourinho said.

“Some of those would have been amazing goals. I remember a couple of direct free-kicks hitting the post, so we’ve seen lots of beautiful actions. It’s not a problem of quality at all, it’s a problem of luck.

“We have some players that are not really players in love with the goal. They are good players, they are creative players, they can create, but naturally they are not the kind of guy that is a killer.

“I give a simple example. In the way we play at Old Trafford, in the way we dominate opponents in the way we play in the box, I think ‘Chicharito’ would have 20 goals easy, even coming from the bench for the last 10 or 20 minutes.

“He is the guy that naturally the ball comes here, rebound here, rebounds there, boom – goal.

“If the goalkeeper saves it, he goes there, boom – goal. If the cross is coming, he anticipates the first post header – goal. And that’s not even coming off the bench.

“We don’t score enough goals for the way we play and the teams that come to Old Trafford, they know that. They feel that and they defend.”