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Jose Mourinho admits he could be 'happier' with Manchester United transfer business

The Portuguese hailed the club's three signings so far as 'fantastic' but suggested he is still one player short

Mark Critchley
Thursday 03 August 2017 11:31 BST
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Jose Mourinho hoped for four high-profile signings at the start of the summer
Jose Mourinho hoped for four high-profile signings at the start of the summer (Getty)

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that he could be ‘happier’ with the club’s activity in the transfer market this summer, despite hailing the business conducted thus far as 'fantastic'.

Speaking after his side’s 2-1 win over Sampdoria in Dublin, the final friendly of United’s pre-season, Mourinho praised the signings made by the club in the last few months, with a trio of first-team players arriving at Old Trafford.

Victor Lindelof, Romelu Lukaku and, most recently, Nemanja Matic have come through the door for a combined sum of £146m, but Mourinho hoped for four high-profile names at the start of the summer and his desire for another attacking player before the window shuts is no secret.

United have so far been frustrated in their efforts to prise winger Ivan Perisic away from Internazionale, whose head coach Luciano Spalletti ruled out selling the Croatian last weekend.

Touching on the failure to sign Perisic after the friendly in Dublin, Mourinho said: “The squad is good and, as I told a few months ago, I was hoping for four players to improve the squad.

“The club did a fantastic job, absolutely fantastic, by getting three of them, which is difficult in the crazy market where we are now.

“To get three out of four, I thank the club for that. I would be happier if they gave me four of four but they did a great effort for me.”

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