Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is set to make a change in his transfer policy to accommodate more experienced Premier League players – with Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld and Chelsea’s Willian are topping his list of players to sign.
Mourinho spent hugely last summer to acquire Paul Pogba from Juventus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Borrussia Dortmund but the duo has hardly had any impact in English football.
Mourinho has continuously said that buying players from his Premier League contenders would have more advantage but he also believes that would be a difficult feat to achieve.
“Here (in England), everyone is powerful now,” said Mourinho in an interview with France Football this week.
“The scenery has changed. If I want to buy a player from Tottenham, I can’t. Nor can I buy a player from Manchester City or Arsenal.
“That was not the case before. At Chelsea, I brought in Shaun Wright-Phillips, who was the best player at Manchester City or Ashley Cole from Arsenal.
“Sir Alex (Ferguson), when he wanted the best player from Tottenham, he bought Michael Carrick and then Dimitar Berbatov.”
In spite of Mourinho’s lack of enthusiasm, Alderweireld and Willian might be available in the transfer market for various reasons and they could be the solution to United’s problem.
Spurs have been trying to get Belgian defender to recommit his future to the club, and the two parties have been in negotiations for a while now but are yet to agree to a deal.
Critically acclaimed as the most outstanding defender in the Premier League this season, the Belgium international would be a great addition to the United squad if Mourinho could lure him away from Tottenham with an irresistible offer.
Willian, on the other hand, has had a bad time at Stamford Bridge as he is rarely given first team opportunity and his future there is now shaky.
Mourinho and Willian have experience working together as the Brazilian attacking midfielder was one of the few players who was consistent during the Portuguese time as the Blues manager last season.
Willian would be the perfect replacement for Ashley Young who is set to depart from Old Trafford, and the Brazilian have confirmed he was close to signing a deal with United last summer.
“There were inquiries. It was from Manchester United, because Mourinho is there too,” stated Willian. “I’m glad to hear that there are clubs that admire my work.”
Considering Mourinho’s words about the hardship of signing players from Premier league, it would not be an easy task to get Tottenham and Chelsea to do business with United.