Jose Mourinho will wait until January to complete the fourth signing on the list handed to Ed Woodward back in May after deciding against offloading any of his fringe players to fund another move over the next two weeks, according to ESPN’s Mark Ogden.
The Portuguese has spent a total of £146m on bringing Victor Lindelof, Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic to Old Trafford over the summer but remains keen on securing another winger to further supplement United’s attacking movements. Talks with Inter Milan over Ivan Perisic have failed to progress over the last month, however, and manager Luciano Spalletti recently confirmed he wouldn’t leave the San Siro. Interest in Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale came to nothing after it emerged the Welshman was part of Zinedine Zidane’s plans for this season.
Funding another signing before the window shuts on August 31 would necessitate parting ways with a current member of Mourinho’s squad. United have only raised £9.8m from the sale of Adnan Januzaj to Real Sociedad, and while Matteo Darmian, Anthony Martial, Chris Smalling and Marouane Fellaini have all been linked with moves away, the Portuguese has elected to preserve the harmony in his side – considered to be at its best since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson – by not altering the current balance, especially with Luke Shaw, Ashley Young and Marcos Rojo all still sidelined through injury.
Mourinho rarely buys players in January but if the injured trio, along with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, return to form and fitness by the new year, he will consider making a few changes that pave the way for a new addition – most likely out wide. But unless an unexpected opportunity presents itself over the next two weeks, the 54-year-old will focus on working with the current squad at his disposal.
