Javier Hernandez is one of the players Jose Mourinho believes Louis van Gaal shouldn’t have sold during his time as Manchester United’s manager.

The Mexican forward was sold to Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, one year before Mourinho’s arrival, and went on to score 39 goals in 76 appearances for the German club.

“United sold players that I would never sell. And bought players that I would never buy,” Mourinho said last year.

“I would have never have sold Angel Di Maria, Chicharito and Danny Welbeck. Never. No chance.”

Hernandez has since returned to the Premier League with West Ham, where he’s endured an up-and-down ride.

The 29-year-old has struggled for consistency at the London Stadium and admitted he asked to leave the club in the January transfer window.

Villas-Boas tried to sign Hernandez for Tottenham

Hernandez has been in high demand throughout his career and Andre Villas-Boas is one of many managers who expressed an interest in signing him.

The Portuguese coach has revealed in an interview with ESPN that he was close to signing the striker during his time as Tottenham manager.

What Hernandez told Villas-Boas

But Chicharito turned him down with a response that speaks volumes about the player’s attitude.

“I was close to signing Chicharito, I still have a very good relationship with him,” Villas-Boas said.

"He always said: 'Coach, I'm going to fight for my position [at United] and I'll fight until the end.'

"I told him that he should give me an opportunity and that he should come, but no. He believed in himself a lot and that also excited me.

"In the end we weren't able to come to an agreement."

It was Chicharito's ability to always find the right positions that appealed to Villas-Boas.

"[What stands out] as a player [is] his ability to lose his marker, to be in the right place to score a goal," the former Chelsea manager added.

“That is what interested me most, as well as his speed in space.

“As a person, everything was excellent and I realised that when we spoke.

"It's important for a coach to have [players] that they can relate to in a direct way and I felt that sensation with him."

Maybe one day Villas-Boas will get his chance to manager Hernandez, who also counts Real Madrid among his list of clubs played for.