Jose Mourinho was furious on Thursday night after Manchester United failed to sign a new defender despite promising him £100m to strengthen at centre-back, according to reports. The Portuguese coach spent most of the summer trying to bolster his backline, having identified the centre of defence as his number one priority in the transfer window. United were linked with Toby Alderweireld, Harry Maguire, Jerome Boateng and even a deadline day move for Diego Godin, but ultimately failed to bring in a new centre-back.
According to the Daily Mail, Mourinho was left ‘angry and frustrated’ after the transfer deadline passed having being told by Ed Woodward that funds were available for a world-class defender. Both Mourinho and the club had earmarked Real Madrid star Raphael Varane as their ultimate target – and were prepared to break the transfer record to sign him with a £100m offer. However, when it became clear that Real had no intention of letting him leave, the club struggled to find a suitable alternative and vetoed every single one of Mourinho’s suggestions. A deal for Alderweireld was quickly considered too complicated, with Tottenham playing hard ball early on, while other targets were considered too short-term.
Bayern defender Boateng’s advancing years and chequered injury record put off United bosses, while the 32-year-old Godin ultimately rejected a move to Old Trafford. The Red Devils were also unwilling to go beyond £65m for Maguire, while Leicester wanted a record fee for a defender, but Woodward was adamant that he would not pay over the odds for a position he is not as concerned about as Mourinho is.
