Speaking to Manchester United’s own TV station following a 1-0 defeat by Bayern Munich on 5 August, Jose Mourinho said his side would face “a difficult season” unless they signed at least one more player. At the time, United boss Mourinho was confident a new central defender would be recruited. It did not happen. Despite late excitement over a move for Uruguay’s Diego Godin, which, it subsequently transpired, had fizzled out earlier in the week virtually as soon as it had been made, Mourinho’s squad remains as it was on 4 July when Lee Grant arrived from Stoke as United’s third-choice keeper. Thirty-six hours before the 2018-19 Premier League was set to begin – United welcome Leicester to Old Trafford on Friday night – Mourinho was asked if he had the “tools to compete” with Manchester City and Liverpool. “I know the words you want me to say,” he said. “I think by the end of November, December you won’t need words, you will see by then which teams are candidates to win the Premier League.” Does that mean there is trouble ahead for Manchester United? In short, they couldn’t do the right deal.
The confidence Mourinho expressed about United getting an additional signing on 31 July during the club’s pre-season tour of the United States was based around multiple targets. They ranged from Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane, to Barcelona’s Yerry Mina (who subsequently joined Everton), via seasoned internationals Jerome Boateng and – briefly – Godin. For differing reasons, none got off the ground. United have the money to do big deals. They were prepared to do exactly that to get a top player, which Varane undoubtedly is.
Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward would not have flinched had Real Madrid told him to write a cheque for £100m for the Frenchman, a sum that would have smashed both United’s club record transfer fee and the world record for a defender. But they didn’t. Over the course of a lengthy discussion between United’s and Real’s top brass in Miami last month, it became clear the Champions League holders would not sell at any price. Godin’s class is not in question either. The 32-year-old remains one of the best defenders in the world.
Encouraged to go for the Uruguayan in the final days of the window, United discovered they were being used as leverage to net Godin a better contract extension from Atletico Madrid, so another door closed. Jerome Boateng was offered by Bayern Munich for about £40m. Mourinho was keen on the former Manchester City man. United, having analysed Boateng’s awful appearance record – 33 games missed through injury and illness in two seasons – proposed a loan. Boateng and Bayern were not impressed. United were not impressed by the outcome of their negotiations over Mina, walking away from what they regarded as prohibitive agents’ fees which, if they had agreed to them, would have set a dangerous precedent for a player who is hardly in the world-class bracket.
Speculation surrounding a move for Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld rumbled on for much of the summer. It turned out to be unfounded. United never made a bid for the 29-year-old Belgian. As one club source said: “We ended up in a situation where if we had done a deal, we would have been swapping our fifth best central defender for another fifth best central defender.” Under the circumstances, United concluded there was no point.
