Man United Board Give Jose Mourinho Important Mandate Ahead of January Transfer

Mourinho during the Chelsea game on Sunday

 

Jose Mourinho has been told he has to sell before he can buy players in January as the Manchester United board look to cut costs at Old Trafford, reports claim.

 

The Portuguese has splashed a whopping £285million on transfer fees during his two year stint at the club, with six major signings arriving.

 

Vast sums have been spent on Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Romelu Lukaku, Victor Lindelof, Nemanja Matic and Eric Bailly, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic also being handed huge wages.

 

Indeed, United’s wage bill has risen by 13.5% to £263.5m – as shown in their most recent financial figures when released in September.

 

And the board have told Mourinho that he can only buy players if he generates some cash through player sales, according to the BBC.

 

Luke Shaw is one of the players expected to be offloaded by the Portuguese after making just four Premier League starts in the past 12 months.

 

A combination of injury and poor form has seen him fail to start a match this season and the 22-year-old is likely to be shown the door.

 

Marouane Fellaini is another whose future is unclear.

 

While he’s a popular figure under Mourinho, he has yet to agree a new deal and his contract expires in the summer.

 

Turkish giants Besikitas has confirmed their interest in signing him and United could be tempted to cash in.

 

‘Fellaini is on our list, we have made efforts to sign him but not just him,’ Besiktas board member Metin Albayrak said.

 

‘He is not the only player we scouted, our scouting team watched 20 games live this week.

 

‘Transfer plans never end, we are always working. We are keeping tabs on several players.

 

‘The club has plans for Turkey and Europe, there are negotiations. We want to make the signing for the winter transfer window or for the end of the season.’