Former England captain David Beckham has said that he hopes to see Jose Mourinho return to the Premier League sooner rather than later.

The Portuguese manager was sacked by Chelsea just seven months after guiding the Blues to the Premier League title having lost nine of the opening 16 games of the current campaign.

Numerous reports have suggested that Mourinho is being lined up to replace under-fire Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal and, while Beckham has urged the Red Devils to give Van Gaal more time, he admitted that he would be keen to see Mourinho back in England.

"Jose leaving Chelsea, who would have expected that after the season they had last year? It doesn't make him a bad manager," Beckham told talkSPORT.

"He is still one of the best managers and I hope he comes back to the Premier League as soon as possible.

"The Premier League is the Premier League for the great players we bring in, the great teams, the money, the fans and the great characters that we have as managers. You want to see managers like that in the game."

Mourinho has won three Premier League titles, the FA Cup and three League Cups during his two spells in England.