Jose Mourinho kept to the Status Quo at Manchester United in terms of the January window. The 20-time English champions rarely delve into the market during the winter window.

The former Chelsea boss continued the trend in his first season with the club, not making a single new addition to his side, having spent well over £100m in the summer window.

With Antoine Griezmann links appearing day-to-day, United fans may have been expecting a big name arrival to boost their Premier League run-in, though none materialised.

Some fans will have been disappointed by their side’s lack of activity in the window, however, the fact that there have been no new arrivals over the last month, points to a perfectly orchestrated transfer plan from the hierarchy in the red half of Manchester.

The January window is a famously dangerous time to head into the market looking for an effective deal, with inflated prices and a short time for new additions to find their feet.

With effective planning in the pre-season a manager should look to avoid, barring unexpected issues such as injury, having to add to his squad in the mid-season.

Such is the case at Old Trafford. Upon his arrival as Louis Van Gaal’s replacement, the Portuguese identified his four main targets, essentially a new spine of the side, and they were efficiently brought in by the likes of Ed Woodward.

The arrivals of Eric Bailly, Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic stamped Mourinho’s plans on the squad and, after a rocky start the Red Devils are in scarily good form.

Having identified and successfully acquired his key targets ahead of the season, Mourinho side-stepped the need to shake up his squad ahead of a crucial run-in and in the middle of a hot-streak of form.

Futhermore, in terms of outgoings, the three-time Premier League champion crafted the perfect deals from his club’s perspective.

Whilst it has taken Mourinho a while to settle on his favoured players, some have been clearly out of the limelight since his arrival at Old Trafford, whilst Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ashley Young stayed put, others headed for the hills.

Whilst the manager made it clear that he did not want to sell Morgan Schneiderlin, to recoup almost the entirety of the fee paid for him when he joined from Southampton in 2015 is remarkable business.

Further still, with Memphis Depay heading out with a buy back clause gives the boss a get out of jail clause should the winger find the sensational form that brought him to the club in the first place.

While the lack of business may have frustrated fans, the solid squad Mourinho has to work with, which could well bring more than one trophy this season, should appease fans come the end of the campaign.