JOSE: WE CAN’T BUY THE BEST

United’s transfer power gone

JOSE MOURINHO claims Manchester United are struggling because they no longer rule the transfer market.

Mourinho, who has revealed that Alexis Sanchez could be out for six weeks with a hamstring injury, said United have lost their unrivalled power to buy any player they want and are suffering as a result. In the past United raided Tottenham for players such as Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov.

But Mourinho said there is no way United could now take Harry Kane or Deli Alli away from Spurs. He said: “Is Manchester United by

always been really busy but now it’s the best squad, 100 per cent. “They have Michael Keane back and settled, Mina, a brilliant player, then Lucas Digne, like a young Leighton Baines. They are a really good team and, of course, England’s No1 Jordan Pickford in goal. “That’s a proper squad and would be a European team in whatever competition.

They defend really well.

They have good players in every position.”

Preparing to face an attack led by Richarlison, above, Klopp said fixing Liverpool’s defence cost them some of their midfield creativity. The Reds have scored 35 goals this season, compared to 50 this time 12 months ago, and Klopp said the decline was partly down to him telling his midfield to defend more. He has tightened up the backline and their tally of five goals conceded is joint-best in the Premier League. And a frustrated Klopp feels he cannot win in the eyes of his critics, saying: “When everything is brilliant and we score goals, you always ask about defending and how can we fix that!

“We fixed that, kind of, and it always happens that the first step is it costs you a bit of fluency and creativity. That is a completely normal thing.

“If someone would think about it they would see it is clear, it is logical. Now, when we fix that, I can’t say in the first moment to the boys, ‘But that’s not enough offensively’. That would be crazy.”