Manchester United: A recruiting dilemma evident after preseason

Avoiding the third-season syndrome

There are always critics linking Mourinho’s spending and his team’s lack of a coherent game plan, but he inherited a nearly unusable squad when he took over from Louis van Gaal. None of Woodward’s spending spree in the previous summers has found their way to the manager’s plan.

Daley Blind, Radamel Falcao, Angel Di Maria, Memphis Depay, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin have been shown the exit door. United’s signings under Mourinho have also been hit-and-miss with Bailly’s injury problems, Lindelof’s sluggish start and Mkhitaryan’s inability to adapt in the Premier League. The team is heavily criticized for failing to upgrade the back four, a clear evidence of a lack of planning in players recruitment.

Fred is a vital signing to help Pogba reach his potential, but United needs more than that to clear the 19-point gap to Manchester City. The pressure is mounted as Mourinho enters the third year in charge of United, which has always been the end point of his previous relationships.

When arch-rival Pep Guardiola took over the other side of Manchester, he also inherited an old, unbalanced squad featuring Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Fernando, Aleksandr Kolarov, Jesus Navas and Gael Clichy. An up-and-down debut campaign was followed by a massive overhaul as City effectively dumped the entire squad to bring in fresh legs, and the rest was history. United’s squad is at that similar stage, but its surprising lack of investment is a concern to Mourinho who has always set out to be the achiever.

The third-season syndrome is what barres Mourinho from earning the respect he should have for his achievements. The manager has indicated that he wants to stay at Old Trafford for a “long period“, but he seems to have run out of ideas. A massive overhaul despite all the spending is necessary, but United’s unproductive summer isn’t comfortable for the manager.

The last breakup with Chelsea also saw the manager endure a disastrous summer without any major signing. Everything is pointing to a deja vu of a difficult third campaign at Old Trafford.

The message is clear: United needs more signings. And Mourinho is going to play the mind game, the miserable manager, the agitate character until Woodward and the executive board gifts him another player.