MOUR BIG BUYS ONLY TO KEEP BENCH WARM?
JOSE MOURINHO can expect to be questioned over his £400million spending spree since becoming Manchester United manager.
He fell out with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward (below) during the last transfer window over his perceived lack of support on a number of player targets.
But Woodward pointed out that, when he wanted to bring in a defender such as Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld, the Portuguese had already splashed out £61m on Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof.
Now Mourinho faces the same grim scenario when he approaches the United board for more funds in the January window.
It’s whether to trust Mourinho, especially when, in recent games, many of his buys have been relegated to the bench or left out completely.
Last weekend, against Crystal Palace, Alexis Sanchez – the Premier League’s highest-paid player on almost £500,000 a week – started on the bench.
Now injured, the former Gunners star has had a paltry five starts.
It was the same for
£52m Fred – annexed to the bench. He did feature from the kick-off in
United’s Champions League win over Young Boys, but that was only his eighth start in all competitions.
Bailly, a £30m purchase from Villarreal, has started only three Premier League games.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been and gone, following his £27m purchase from Borussia Dortmund.
Then there’s the enigma which is Paul Pogba – an £89m club-record investment, who found himself on the bench against Young Boys after being hooked, following another anonymous showing last Saturday against Crystal Palace.
At least he has got into double figures in terms of league appearances, even if the French World Cup winner has largely flattered to deceive in a majority of outings.
Lindelof, signed from Benfica for £31m, had shown signs of improving – only for injury to strike.
At £75m, Romelu Lukaku was heralded as the answer to United’s problems in front of goal.
But United’s David de Gea-inspired defence was the main reason Mourinho’s side scrambled a second-placed Premier League finish last season.
Only 28 goals conceded, only one more than champions Manchester City, but just 68 scored compared to City’s prodigious haul of 106. Belgian Lukaku has endured a goal famine and was another one dumped to the bench in midweek.
Nemanja Matic has proved a rare constant as he battles to justify his £40m fee from Chelsea.
Then there’s Diogo Dalot, a £19m summer buy from Porto, who has yet to make his Premier League bow.
Finally, keeper Lee
Grant, signed from Stoke for £1.5m, is simply providing cover and restricted to one substitute appearance in the EFL Cup.
Of Mourinho’s 11 signings, only Zlatan Ibrahimovic could be classified as a big success – and his stay was shortlived through injury and a subsequent move to LA Galaxy.
But the ammunition appears loaded against Mourinho when he demands more money in the transfer market.
So far the Portuguese has certainly not received much bang for his buck.