It looks like the dastardly deed has finally been done. Manchester United have, apparently, signed Romelu Lukaku, which should solve the “who is going to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic?” conundrum.
The spending cannot stop there however as United still need a full back and either a defensive midfielder to allow Pogba and Herrera to get forward, or an attacking midfielder so that Herrera can remain in the holding position.
The full back position is the strange one as it is difficult to gauge whether or not Mourinho has full confidence in either one of Luke Shaw or Matteo Darmian. In top form and with the right attitude you would think that they could be the first choice full backs for years to come, but something is not going quite as planned.
Maybe Luke Shaw is not yet back to full fitness but, the fact that he is being kept out of the left back position by a right back, should cause him some concern.
Darmian is playing quite well but the fact that he can’t get into the team in his natural position as a right back should cause him some concern, particularly as he is being kept out by a converted winger who is not great at defending.
So a move for a full back should be made. It is up to Mourinho which position he thinks requires an upgrade the most, but a world class full back should be a priority.
The midfield area could benefit from the purchase of James Rodriguez, assuming that United and Real Madrid are still on speaking terms.
Rodriguez only made thirteen appearances in La Liga last season and nine of those were from the bench. He still managed an impressive eight goals and six assists in those games in which he was involved, all of which points to him being worth a place in the squad at Old Trafford.
If not James Rodriguez then a defensive midfielder is another option. It would appear that United and Chelsea may now go through a short period of sulking with each other and this may put paid to any chance there was of Nemanja Matic joining.
So the next logical choice and, in our humble opinion, always a preferable one to Matic, would be the Brazilian Fabinho. Currently at Monaco, who may be betting tired of seeing their players linked with other clubs, he would represent a sound investment for the future as well as the present.
At 23 years of age he is five years younger than Matic and has an added advantage in that he is a very capable full back as well as defensive midfielder.
Whatever the outcome of this transfer window may turn out to be Manchester United, by the end of it, need to be in a much stronger to challenge for the title than they were at the same time last year. With two of these three players joining, then they would be.
In the latest news today the official Man United site have revealed that Wayne Rooney has agreed to move to Everton on a free transfer as the record United goal scorer returns to his boyhood club to play for Ronald Koeman.