Jose Mourinho wants Manchester United transfer backing as Alexis Sanchez, Ivan Perisic sagas show disconnect

As Alexis Sanchez rose to head a 90th-minute winner against Newcastle, Old Trafford was united for one frenzied, thrilling moment of pure elation.

But the Chilean is symptomatic of the disconnect at Manchester United – and Jose Mourinho’s attempts to build a team in his own image, rather than serve the desires of investors.

Commercial influences on United’s transfer strategy are a frustration for Mourinho, who is seeking assurances he will be given significant backing in January.

The under-fire 55-year-old saw the pressure on him ease with Sanchez’ late strike. But the fact the forward had to emerge from the bench to score his first goal since April was evidence of Mourinho’s struggles to integrate him since his arrival from Arsenal.

REUTERS

Dropping Sanchez for the second Premier League game in succession, he finally lost patience with the 29-year-old, whose desire to play on the left of United’s attack has contributed to the disillusionment of Anthony Martial and the stalling of Marcus Rashford’s progress.

Mourinho still rues the failure to land Ivan Perisic two summers ago, when executive vice chairman Ed Woodward refused to meet Inter Milan’s valuation of £48million for their Croatian winger.

Reuters

United set their limit at £45m – leaving Mourinho desperately frustrated by having to compromise his plans for the sake of £3m.

Within the United manager’s inner circle it was felt Perisic’s lack of star appeal had been a major factor in the decision not to press ahead with a deal.

Just months later United made Sanchez the highest paid player in their history - on a reputed salary of around £500,000-a-week – with Woodward regaling investors on the New York Stock Exchange with details of the social media interactions and shirt sales generated as a result of the move.

In Pictures | Alexis Sanchez joins Manchester United | 22/01/2018

1/6

Mourinho also welcomed the signing but had been intent on playing Perisic on the right of his attack, while Sanchez only added to a congested left hand side, which was already being contested by Martial and Rashford.

The right wing remains a problem position to this day.

The Portuguese’s judgement on Perisic was justified as he emerged as one of the stars of the World Cup, scoring in both the semi final and final for runners-up Croatia. Mourinho asked Woodward to make a renewed bid this summer, but with the 29-year-old’s value rocketing as a result of his performances in Russia there was little chance of United paying even more 12 months on.

REUTERS

Mourinho’s frustrations deepened as Woodward vetoed moves for Harry Maguire, Jerome Boateng and Toby Alderweireld – preferring to target a world record move for out-of-reach Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane instead.

The failure to sign a top-class central defender is considered a major factor in United’s troubled start to the season, which has placed Mourinho’s future in such doubt.

Senior United sources have distanced themselves from links with Zinedine Zidane and were desperate to dismiss reports Mourinho would be sacked over the weekend.

But the former Chelsea and Real manager wants a very public showing of their support in January with the money to complete the squad rebuilding he had planned during the summer window.

Centre backs Milan Skriniar from Inter and AC Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli were scouted extensively before United moved for Maguire and Boateng, and both remain high on Mourinho’s wanted list.

But it is still unclear whether he will be given the funding – or greater control – with United continuing to pursue a technical director or director of football to act as a buffer between Mourinho and the board.

Ideally they would like an appointment in place before the end of the year, but the January window could come too soon for the successful candidate to have an influence on transfers.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in