Jose Mourinho believes Manchester United can no longer poach players from top Premier League rivals.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho reacts
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has told France Football that he can’t sign players from Arsenal, Manchester City or Tottenham as ‘everyone is powerful’ in the Premier League.
The Red Devils are pushing for a Champions League spot under Mourinho, and finishing in the top four would only boost their power in the transfer market.
Under Louis van Gaal, United spent heavily on the likes of Luke Shaw, Angel Di Maria, Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay – and the spending only continued under Mourinho last summer.
Not only did United break the world transfer record by re-signing Paul Pogba from Juventus, but they also splashed the cash on Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, with free agent Zlatan Ibrahimovic another big-name addition.
United are a major force in the transfer market, but manager Mourinho has suggested that he can no longer sign players from United’s top Premier League rivals.
In days gone by, Sir Alex Ferguson was able to lure Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov to Old Trafford having starred with Tottenham, whilst Mourinho himself was able to sign Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips from Arsenal and Manchester City respectively during his time in charge of Chelsea.
Sir Alex Ferguson in the stands
Now, Mourinho has told France Football that he can’t do that, as the money in the Premier League means that all of United’s rivals are financially powerful, noting that he can’t sign anybody from Arsenal, Manchester City or Spurs.
“Here, everyone is powerful now. The scenery has changed. If I want to buy a player from Tottenham, I can’t,” said Mourinho. “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, when he wanted the best player from Tottenham, he bought Michael Carrick and then Berbatov,” he added.
Mourinho’s comments are particularly interesting given that Yahoo Sport believe United are lining up a summer move for Tottenham’s star defender Toby Alderweireld – but just as Mourinho suggested, Spurs will be in a position to demand huge money, and a move from Tottenham to Old Trafford may even be seen as a step down right now.
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