Jose Mourinho has spoken out over rumours that he will move for Barcelona superstar Neymar in the summer, calling them ‘impossible and absurd,’ after it was suggested Manchester United were ready to splash £173m on the Brazilian.
With that deal out of the way, the Portuguese will begin to focus on those targets he feels he has a realistic chance of landing this summer. Everton striker Romelu Lukaku, having recently snubbed a new deal at Goodison Park, is being mooted as a big money target, something which seems more than feesible given the Belgian’s agent also represents Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Further back, it is being suggested that Mourinho will continue his overhaul of the back four. Having brought in Eric Bailly, who looked a canny addition prior to his injury, last summer the former Chelsea manager is now being linked with a double swoop for Atletico Madrid centre-half Jose Gimenez and Benfica’s Victor Lindelof, a target in January.
Whilst it is, of course, important for Mourinho to improve his side where it’s needed as the Red Devils look to climb back to the peak of English and European football, there may be more pressing issues to deal with this summer.
The Portuguese has been full of praise for midfielder Michael Carrick this season. At the start of Mourinho’s reign it looked as if the former Tottenham man’s days at Old Trafford were numbered, however, having excelled once again this term, he has become a firm favourite of the manager’s.
When Mourinho was tinkering with his system in the early throws of his maiden term at United, looking to find a shape which best suited his world-record signing Paul Pogba, Carrick stepped up to the plate and gave Pogba the base to go on and perform.
Whilst the former England international defied critics this season, there is no guarantee that he can do the same next time around.
For Mourinho, bolstering the defence and replacing the goals of Ibrahimovic, should he leave, are key issues, however, there is a strong case to argue that filling the hole which will inevitably be left by Carrick in the next couple of seasons is a much more pressing issue.
The likes of Spurs man Eric Dier, who has been pushed back into his less favoured role in the back four thanks to the performances of Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele this season, has been mooted as a canny addition and is certainly an avenue which Mourinho should explore.
Whomever they bring in, whether it be Dier or not, it is one of the biggest decisions Mourinho will face in his early years at Old Trafford. Having disregarded the talk of Neymar, the Manchester United boss must focus on what matters and get the signings right.