A report from the Guardian states that Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is “unhappy” with the lack of transfer deals completed this summer by the Red Devils.
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So far just one new player has arrived with Swedish defender Viktor Lindelof joining for $39.8 million from Benfica.
Per the report, Mourinho isn’t happy that deals for Alvaro Morata and Nemanja Matic haven’t been sorted before United head to the U.S. for their 2017 preseason tour.
United’s tour starts this Sunday as the squad fly out for a six-day training camp in Los Angeles ahead of friendlies against LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Manchester City, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
Mourinho had wanted four key signings to arrive ahead of the 2017 preseason but it now appears that executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward will not deliver any new players before United’s preseason tour begins, despite Mourinho handing him his “list” of potential new players in May.
It is clear that United needed to add quality throughout the spine of their team with the addition of a center back, central midfielder and a central striker key.
The fact that Mourinho has only got one of those areas sorted will be a concern as the Red Devils aim to make a splash on their return to the UEFA Champions League, plus mount a Premier League title push.
This may just be Mourinho’s way of politely giving Woodward a gentle kick up the backside ahead of a huge season at Old Trafford. Reports of Woodward flying to New Zealand at the weekend to watch the British & Irish Lions rugby side beat the All Blacks are also said to have annoyed Mourinho and some of his staff.
With just over a month until the new PL season begins, you can understand why Mourinho would be a little concerned. When you look back to his title-winning season at Chelsea in 2014-15, deals for Nemanja Matic, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas were all done early so they could be integrated into the team.
Usually having your squad settled heading into the start of preseason provides the best results for the upcoming campaign. Mourinho and United may have to play a waiting game for Morata and Matic and that is far from ideal. United know where they need to strengthen but everybody else knows just how much cash they have and perhaps striking good deals for the club is Woodward’s biggest problem.