Last night, following his side’s 2-0 win over Manchester City in the first Manchester Derby held outside England, United Manager Jose Mourinho shared many of his usual summer transfer window thoughts and feelings in this postgame news conference. He played all the greatest hits, but also presented an idea that hasn’t been previously heard all too much.
Manchester United looked every bit the part of a team with two preseason friendly victories under their belt taking on a bitter rival that hadn’t scrimmaged yet. Afterward, Mourinho reiterated how he really wants two more signings this summer, but will resign himself to the fact that he may only get one.
He definitely hopes that United Executive Vice President Ed Woodward will provide him that third signing, to complement the first (central defender Victor Lindelof) and second (striker Romelu Lukaku). Mourinho also espoused his preference for signing players early in the cycle, so that he could integrate them into the team sooner. It’s the way he’s done things at every club he’s been at.
“The credit of Lukaku, [Victor] Lindelof to be here on time, the credit is not mine, it is Ed Woodward and I thank him for that fantastic work to bring us two very important players for us,” said Mourinho.
“But we need a bit more and when you see the other teams in the Premier League, the way they get players and good players and you see the champion buy three fantastic experienced players, City go to the market, Liverpool and West Ham gets Joe Hart, Chicharito and Arnautovic.”
“West Ham wow, they play to win the Premier League, too so the teams are fantastic in the market and I’m waiting for a bit more.”
It’s been well known for some time that Mourinho is seeking a defensive midfielder and an attacking winger this summer, but during this news conference he also revealed his desire obtain yet another striker. There aren’t many players being heavily linked to United right now, at least not many that seem to be very realistic right now. Paris Saint-Germain’s Serge Aurier has emerged as the latest rumored target, as no immediate progress appears imminent on previously named targets Ivan Perisic, Eric Dier and Nemanja Matic.
“When I look to the team and Lukaku, Lindelof, I would like my squad to be here, my whole squad, if you manage to get one more player I’m not even crying for two, if we get one player as soon as possible because we can see Lindelof is in a team, Lukaku is in a team, the understanding between the players,” Mourinho continued.
“Other teams can do it also, is not a critic or not understanding the difficulty of the situation, I understand the difficulty of the situation and you go to the clubs and accept immediately the price tag, it is not so easy to do that.”
“We see other options, we see if clubs want or don’t want to negotiate but the market is open until August 31 but I like to work from day one and the difference for Lukaku to arrive is huge.”
Mourinho has previously espoused the idea of playing both Lukaku and Marcus Rashford at the same time more often this season (we did see the duo out there together last night), and idea that would certainly be more realistic if another striker is picked up.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV.
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