Jose Mourinho goes on personal scouting mission to watch top Man Utd target

Jose Mourinho took time off his busy schedule to watch Belgium play Iceland [Courtesy]

Jose Mourinho went on a personal scouting mission to Belgium last week to take a closer look at Axel Witsel.

Mourinho has reportedly identified the midfielder as a January transfer target and travelled to Brussels to watch him compete in Belgium's 2-0 win over Iceland in the Nations League.

Neither Romelu Lukaku nor Marouane Fellaini were available for the international fixture, prompting confusion as to why the Manchester United boss was in the crowd.

It was initially reported that Mourinho went to Brussels to take a look at Toby Alderweireld, who United were linked with in the summer transfer window.

This may well have been the case, but according to Belgian outlet HLN, Mourinho was actually in the country to watch Witsel.

The 29-year-old is currently at Dortmund, where he has helped the team climb to the summit of the Bundesliga.

The German club will have no intention of selling the midfielder, who they landed from Chinese Super League side Tianjin Quanjian at the start of the season.

The 29-year-old is currently at Dortmund, where he has helped the team climb to the summit of the Bundesliga [Courtesy]

Additionally, it's unlikely Witsel will be up for leaving Dortmund, who are four points clear at the top of the league and top of their Champions League qualifying group.

But that didn't stop Mourinho heading out to Belgium during the international break to see whether he would be the right man to fix Manchester United's midfield problems.