Discontent at Manchester United as Board Reject Jose Mourinho's Short-Term Fix to Transfer Approach

It appears that Ed Woodward and Jose Mourinho's tumultuous relationship has become even stormier over the last few days, as disagreements on transfer targets have left Manchester United short.

A key area that Mourinho had been looking to strengthen was centre back, with Leicester City's Harry Maguire and Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham Hotspur the chief targets. However, with £65m price tags being thrown around, the Red Devils' hierarchy are in no mood to waste funds.

With Mourinho complaining about a lack of support from upstairs, his attitude on the touchline has been less than stellar. No longer are the boardroom willing to play his game, and if the Portuguese man chooses to continue with his cantankerous sulk, then so be it.

The Guardian report executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward felt that the wish-list of Manchester United's manager lacked an understanding of the club's ethos. Targets like Jerome Boateng didn't fit the criteria, with age, propensity to injury and hyperbolic salary demands all coming up as negatives.

Mourinho feels Man United are in danger of being left behind, with top four contenders Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal continuing to invest. However, Woodward already gave the ex-Inter boss £52m to spend on Fred, and thinks he should focus on making his current squad more cohesive.

Not against spending sums similar to their rivals, it just seems the Red Devils' board are not as high as their manager is on Harry Maguire. Nonetheless, it appears that Mourinho has seen Jurgen Klopp spending £75m on Virgil Van Dijk, and then questioned where his support is. 

There were targets that Mourinho suggested that Ed Woodward and the rest of Manchester United's board were happy with though. Unfortunately for them, Real Madrid were unwilling to enter conversations about Raphael Varane, and Diego Godin wished to stay with Atletico Madrid.

This now leaves Mourinho having to work with a centre back unit of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof. Before new targets come in, Mourinho will have to try and exhaust all current possibilities.