Mourinho: Manchester United were very clever in the transfer market
Manchester United boss, Jose Mourinho, has praised his club’s transfer business and how the market has now forever changed after Neymar’s move to PSG.
Mourinho brought in 4 new players with Matic, Lukaku, Lindelof and the resigning of Ibrahimovic boosting Manchester United’s spine. The Red Devils completed most of their business before the Premier League’s first game of the season with Zlatan joining later due to his injury.
Speaking to the Times UK, Jose said, “I think we were very clever. We thought that something could happen that could change the market forever. Normally the last part of the market is less expensive, but this season, after Neymar, everything changed — and changed for the worse in terms of prices.”
“I think Lukaku on August 31 would have been £150 million. Matic would have been £60 million or £70 million. Neymar changed everything. If the biggest transfer in history had still been Pogba, I think Philippe Coutinho would now be in Barcelona at £101 million.”, exclaimed Mourinho.
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The Portuguese manager continued, “People look to the £200 million figure now. Now the players of £20 million became £40 million, the players of £40 million became £60 million and everything changed. But because we did it [transfers] in the first part of the summer, it was much less.”.
Mourinho may be patting himself on the back a bit here but what he says is completely true. There’s also the added bonus of him making it clear that the club did in fact back him entirely in transfers after rumours surfaced that the manager was not happy with the board for holding him back.
With those reports put to rest, Jose has also explained why it now costs so much to bring in quality players. Suddenly the fees for the players he’s spent look like good pieces of business. The Manchester United manager is famous for his navigation of the transfer market and it initially appeared like he was spending ridiculous sums but he’s since been proven correct.
In an instant Pogba now looks like a bargain. If Neymar is worth around £200 million, it’s reasonable to think of Paul as a £90 million player, particularly because he can still improve. Many tried to discredit the Red Devils businesses over the past two seasons but ultimately things are now put in perspective.
Next summer’s transfer window will certainly be trickier. The good news is that Mourinho has already brought in the majority of his recruits in his plan to turn United into a top team and so it’ll be likely to see just a single face brought in next year. There’s also the positive news of Jose’s trust in his club’s youngsters.
Not typically known for his record with youth players, despite him trying to insist otherwise when initially revealed as Manchester United manager, it’s good to see Mourinho actually have some faith in younger players; a club tradition. He’s always stated that if the youngster is good enough then he will play him and he’s stuck to that word with Marcus Rashford.
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Overall, United fans should be happy with the club’s transfers under Jose’s leadership. Previous managers had a very scattergun approach to signings but with Mourinho there’s a clear plan and type of players being brought in to the club. More importantly they’ve improved the team and Old Trafford will be hoping to see that continue for a long time.