Following a defeat to Arsenal at the weekend that likely ends any hope of Manchester United qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four spot in the Premier League, Jose Mourinho’s side are left with everything hanging on Europa League success.

The Red Devils host Celta Vigo at Old Trafford on Thursday, carrying a 1-0 advantage from the first-leg courtesy of Marcus Rashford’s free-kick, and can expect to play Eredivisie giants Ajax in the final; as they defeated Lyon 4-1 in the first-leg.

However, no matter what United achieve between now and the end of the season it’s clear that Mourinho needs to significantly bolster his side this summer following what’s been a largely disappointing campaign, where United have failed to threaten for the title.

United proved last summer that money was not an issue for them, as they splashed a world-record fee to bring Paul Pogba to the club from Juventus as well as bringing in the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Eric Bailly and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Similar big additions are hinted at this summer, where United could set a world-record again with a move for Antoine Griezmann for Atletico Madrid, but the fact that the Red Devils have a seemingly endless pit of money could be an issue.

Mourinho’s transfer record at Chelsea was shaky at best and he cannot afford to endure any further issues this summer, which makes it quite surprising that United are heavily linked to an array of attacking talents rather than the top-class defensive additions they need.

With Luke Shaw’s future under threat and David De Gea potentially leaving for Real Madrid, United face the possibility of having to sign four defensive names for the first-team; consisting of two full-backs, a defensive partner for Eric Bailly and a new goalkeeper.

Whilst the loss of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to long-term injury and the likely departure of Wayne Rooney leaves some holes needed to be filled in the attack, United do still boast the likes of Rashford, Anthony Martial, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard.

A top-class striker like Griezmann may be seen as a priority, and it’s clear he’d significantly bolster the club’s attacking ranks, but it’s strange to see United heavily linked to other attacking additions like Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata and Torino’s Andrea Belotti.

Should another big attacker arrive, it would significantly hinder the development of both Rashford and Martial, as well as looking like the club are signing for the hell of it rather than addressing the issues that they need to focus on.

Gary Neville claimed on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football this week that United will have around £200m to spend, with their transfer kitty bolstered by the January sales of Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin, but it would take around half of that to lure Griezmann to Old Trafford- leaving £100m to sign the four defensive additions United need.

Rather than going all out for Griezmann, United should fix the other areas of their squad first and spend wisely.