Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has cut a frustrated figure during the club’s pre-season tour of the United States. The club has neither been quiet or hugely busy in the transfer market this summer, purchasing Shakhtar Donetsk’s Fred, FC Porto’s Diogo Dalot and Stoke City’s Lee Grant so far, but the manager has seemingly wanted more, with centre back and the right-hand side of attack both areas of the pitch in which the Portuguese wishes to strengthen.
Up until now, the former Chelsea boss has been vocal about his discontent with the club not delivering his required targets, but as per the below quotes from ITV, the manager appears to have softened his stance somewhat.
“I am confident I get one, but I think two I am not going to get which is not a drama. I think in every pre-season it happens basically the same and probably with every club, which is the manager wants more. It’s our nature, it’s our way of being – you always want more for your team.
“But then club decisions are different and normally you don’t get what you want, which happened basically during all my career. So, if I get one player until the end of the market, that’s fine.”
These comments make for a refreshing approach, given the doom and gloom that has followed much of this pre-season so far. Should a further signing be made, it will likely be a centre back of some description, with the centre of defence known to be an area that Mourinho has deemed to be in need of reinforcement. That’s even taking into consideration that he currently has five senior centre backs at his disposal already, and could even use Axel Tuanzebe or Timothy Fosu-Mensah, two of the club’s academy graduates in the position if he so desired.
