Jose Mourinho predicts how many players Manchester United will sign in January after summer failure
Jose Mourinho is concerned Manchester United will not sign a single player in January, despite him desperately wanting a new centre-back.
The Portuguese was hugely frustrated at the club’s hierarchy failling to deliver him enough new talent in the summer window and he has now made a worrying prediction over how many new faces will arrive at Old Trafford in the New Year.
‘Honestly, I don’t think we are going to sign (anyone),’ said Mourinho.
‘If we do, I would say one player. I don’t see us going more than that.’
United are currently seventh in the Premier League and there’s no doubt Mourinho would love new recruits, but he moaned at a changing landscape that’s stopping his side landing the best players in the Premier League.
‘Is Manchester United by its history, by its dimension, bigger than Tottenham? I think everybody would say yes,’ he said.
‘Can you buy Tottenham’s best players? No, because they don’t sell. They are so powerful that they can say no.
‘A few years ago, who was Tottenham’s best player? Michael Carrick. And a few years later, who was the best player? Berbatov.
‘Can we go there now and bring Harry Kane? Dele Alli, (Christian) Eriksen, Son (Heung-min) here? No. So who is more powerful now? Them or us?
‘I know that we have to do better than we are doing, absolutely, but one thing is to do better and another is to compare ourselves with what Manchester United was in the past because it’s impossible.
‘Not just because Manchester United was fantastic, but because there was a big difference to the others and now it is not like that.
‘Before the smaller clubs were almost begging the big clubs: “Get my best players. I need to sell. Please, you are powerful. Buy my best player.” At this moment, they don’t want to sell.
‘You have no chance in the transfer market unless you go to crazy numbers, or instead you go to what you call the second level players and still have crazy numbers. But that second level is not what Manchester United is.’