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Jose Mourinho identifies three key areas where Manchester United need to strengthen
With Manchester United currently trailing table-topping Manchester City by 13 points and likely to finish a distant second this term, Jose Mourinho has plenty of work to do to get his side up to the standard of title challengers ahead of next season.
According to a report in The Mirror, Mourinho has identified three key areas where United need to strengthen in the summer. It will require a serious outlay by the club but, well, that’s par for the course at this point.
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First up, Mourinho is reportedly targeting a marquee signing at centre-back. His “wish list” – as if he actually has a wish list of multimillion pound transfer targets which he sends up the chimney at Christmas, or something – includes Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld and Borussia Dortmund’s Sokratis Papastathopoulos.
Papastathopoulos has been scouted by United and would apparently cost around £20m, while Alderweireld would be a considerably more expensive option, though he’s obviously proven in the Premier League.
Departing midfielders
With Marouane Fellaini rejecting a new contract at United and Michael Carrick retiring at the end of the season, it would be understandable for Mourinho to look for reinforcements in the midfield. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, the central midfielder who is in the midst of a breakthrough campaign with Lazio, is reportedly the man to replace United’s outgoing veterans in the middle of the park.
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Milinkovic-Savic has scored nine goals and registered two assists in Serie A this campaign, so United are likely to face considerable competition for his signature.
Goodbye, Luke Shaw
Finally, Mourinho reportedly wants to recruit an out-and-out left-back rather than continue using Ashley Young to deputise as a makeshift defender.
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In a move which would likely spell the end of Luke Shaw’s United career, Mourinho is supposedly after Danny Rose. Again, given that he’s contracted to Tottenham, Rose would command a hefty fee.
