Manchester United fans hopeful of transfer deadline day drama were left disappointed as the Red Devils failed to land any late deals as the window slammed shut on Thursday.
United brought in Fred, Diogo Dalot and reserve goalkeeper Lee Grant for a combined total of around £70million, but Jose Mourinho has been focal in his criticism of the club’s failure to sign two further players he feels they need to win the Premier League title.
The Portuguese continued voicing his frustration at a news conference on deadline day to preview Friday's Premier League opener against Leicester City at Old Trafford amid speculation United were still trying to sign a centre-back in the final few hours of the window.
Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld, Leicester’s Harry Maguire, Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng and Atletico Madrid's Diego Godin were all on Mourinho’s wanted list, but the United boss said: "I am not confident [of signing anyone].
"I am not confident and the market closes today so it is time, at least for me, to stop thinking about the market. I will have to focus on the players I have and in relation to this first three matches – because after Spurs there is national team and a couple of weeks to recover people and prepare people better – is to focus on the players that are available.
"So I am not even thinking about that list of [injured] players I gave you – [Nemanja] Matic, [Antonio] Valencia and so on. I focus just on what we have and we go with everything we have to the first match."
Pushed on whether any player would be incoming or outgoing today, Mourinho added: “The information I have is no.”
And so it proved as United failed to land any late deals, leaving Mourinho short of what he feels is a squad strong enough to launch a credible title challenge.
Alexis Sanchez voiced his disappointment at United's lack of new signings before the window closed, telling ESPN: "I would have liked that they had signed many more world-class players. But it's the club's decision."
He added: "The truth is that [Fred] impressed me a lot in his first game. It's what the team lacked - someone who plays 'jogo bonito,' as they say in Brazil. And Andreas Pereira too.
"I think they are two players who have quality and they could help me a lot."
