Should Jose Mourinho still be manager in January, it appears he’ll have quite a big transfer budget to work with.
After a summer in which the club made just one major signing, midfielder Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk, Manchester United are reportedly prepared to spend upwards of $128 million for a new centerback and a new striker during the January transfer window. Mourinho has complained bitterly during the first three months of the season about his lack of talent both in the back and up top. At times he’s turned to Scott McTominay to play centerback and even had a failed experiment with Ander Herrera in a three-man backline.
Meanwhile, both Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku, who was benched last match in Man United’s 2-1 win over Everton, have both failed to score for the Red Devils since September in all competitions.
Of course, a lot of this is Mourinho’s own doing. He signed Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez (last winter), Eric Bailey and Victor Lindelof since taking over at Man United, and none of the foursome have lived up to expectations at Old Trafford, only showing flashes of brilliance. Mourinho deserves some blame for this, failing to develop them as players after signing them and playing up their potential.
It will be interesting to see now only who is possibly available in January, but whether Man United CEO Ed Woodward will approve the deals, with Mourinho sitting on the hot seat all season.
