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Man Utd news: Jose Mourinho piles on Ed Woodward transfer pressure before Liverpool clash
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Jose Mourinho admits he still has no idea whether or not the club can do any business in the January transfer window.
Man Utd: Mourinho gives injury update ahead of Liverpool match
With just over a fortnight to go until the winter window opens, United remain linked with a whole host of players.
Mourinho was denied a centre-back and a wide forward back in the summer due to an apparent disagreement with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
A defender seemingly remains the priority with United having conceded 26 goals in just 16 top-flight games so far this season - just two less than they conceded across the entire 2017-18 campaign.
Having been previously linked with Harry Maguire and Toby Alderweireld, Napoli superstar Kalidou Koulibaly is the latest centre-back to be named as a Red Devils target.
Yet the Portuguese manager has admitted he has no idea whether or not he will welcome any recruits next month.
That’s despite United going into their Premier League showdown with Liverpool at Anfield today (4pm) a chasmic 16 points below their rivals.
That gap will open to 19 points with defeat, while they could also feasibly trail fourth place by 11 points if they lose on Merseyside.
But Mourinho is clueless as to whether he will be able to welcome any new players into his squad - insisting the onus is on Woodward and the club.
It depends on the club and I don't know
He told reporters: “I don't know if we are going to have new players, I would like to.
“But I don't know if it is possible or not. It depends on the club and I don't know.
“Honestly, I'm focused on my job of playing Liverpool, and Cardiff after that.”
Mourinho’s worrying transfer window update comes after insisting his team are still some distance from the side he has envisioned in his head.
Asked how far away United are from being a team in his image like Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team are, he said: “Far. Far.”
The 55-year-old added: “It is not just about the money they spent in the summer - it is about many things.
“It is not just about spending money and reinforcing the squad, a football team is more than that.
“It is like a house. It is not just about buying the furniture - you have to do work. You spend money on the best possible furniture and then you’re ready to live in an amazing house.”
Despite Mourinho’s claims the Evening Standard say that United are willing to make Koulibaly the most expensive defender of all time - more so than today’s opponent Virgil van Dijk.
Liverpool spent £75m on Van Dijk back in January and the Dutchman has had a transformative effect on the club’s defensive fortunes, with United potentially willing to do the same with Koulibaly.
Standard Sport say United have had two bids rejected already but could return with a new offer of around £100m to tempt the Italian side into parting ways with the Senegalese international.
However, Mourinho is also keeping tabs on Alderweireld of rival Tottenham, Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar and AC Milan ace Alessio Romagnoli.