Jose Mourinho is ready to overhaul his squad in the next two transfer windows. The 53 year old Portuguese manager is not pleased with some of the players at his disposal, and is set to spend big in the winter transfer window and is being backed by the Old Trafford hierarchy. The Daily Record reports that Ed Woodward, the Manchester United vice-executive has approved plans by the former Chelsea handler to sign new players in January, with the man ready to free up the necessary cash to turn The Red Devils into title contenders. Mourinho, however is prioritizing signing defensive reinforcements over attack minded players, and has set hi sights on Virgil Van Dijk of Southampton and Bayer Leverkusen’s Alexandr Dragovic.
Mourinho has seen his side keep just 7 clean sheets in 22 matches spanning all competitions and is ready to spend £30m on Van Dijk or £20m on Dragovic, or eventually end up signing the pair. The signing is imperative as summer signing, Eric Bailly is set to go for the African Nations Cup in January after recovering from injury sometime later in the month while Chris Smalling is still feeling after effects of a toe injury. Van Dijk has impressed a host of clubs like Liverpool, Manchester City and United for his mature performances for Claude Puel’s men and is valued at a whopping £30m.
Since his move to The BayArena, Dragovic has struggled for game time and could be interested in a move to Manchester to ressurect his career. The Serbian is valued at about €15m and could be a cheaper alternative to 25 year old Van Dijk. Manchester United have been inconsistent all season in the Premier League, winning just twice in their last eight games. Fresh off the back of a morale boosting 4-1 victory over West Ham in midweek, The Old Trafford outfit travel to Goodison Park on Saturday to face Everton.
