Jose Mourinho isn't exactly the type of manager to put his feet up while all of his Manchester United stars are away performing for their country.No, even though his side are about to embark on a crazy month of fixtures, Mourinho has decided to put a rare bit of spare time to good use and travel to Croatia.Why? Well, according to the British tabloids earlier this week, it was to cast a closer eye on Ivan Perisic and potentially open up communications regarding a possible summer deal.Perisic might not have been the only target Mourinho was eyeing up, though, with Barcelona star Ivan Rakitic another name linked with Old Trafford recently.Indeed, the Portuguese boss was spotted in the crowd as Croatia beat Ukraine 1-0 in Zagreb.However, he has denied it was to run the rule over any potential targets.In fact, Mourinho explained that he actually visited Croatia to catch up with some friends and get away from England's traditionally terrible weather."I have no hidden cause, I just came to enjoy my free days and visit some friends like Predrag Mijatovic and Davor Suker," Mourinho told HNTV, as per Goal.

"I know everyone believes I came to watch some players, but in football today you don't have to travel around in order to see some players, I know all of them well.

"I came as a person that wants to relax and enjoy the nice weather, unlike the rainy weather in Manchester..."

Hmm... so apparently it's just a coincidence that Mijatovic is the transfer expert for most major deals involving players from that particular region of Europe and has helped Mourinho sign star names in the past.

Not forgetting, he has also become Perisic's representative after the Inter Milan star recently split from his old agent. For some reason, Mourinho's explanation isn't exactly convincing, is it?

Perisic was actually suspended for the World Cup qualifier on Friday night but Rakitic did play for almost 80 minutes.

The Barcelona midfielder was on hand to set up Nikola Kalinic to score the only goal of the game in the 38th minute.

Only time will tell whether Mourinho's brief hiatus to Croatia was truly productive, though.