5 players Manchester United missed out on this summer

It has been a frustrating summer at Old Trafford. It looked like they were in for an exciting summer after an excellent start to the window, with both Fred and Diogo Dalot moving to United before the World Cup got underway.

However, things have been frustrating for Jose Mourinho in the past few weeks, and with the exception of Lee Grant, who will be third choice goalkeeper at best, no one else has come through the doors at Old Trafford. The Portuguese manager gave his board a list of five players he wanted to sign, in the hope at least two of them would be bought. In the end, he got none.

It is clear that Mourinho is frustrated at the club this season. He was unhappy with the performances in pre-season, as well as the fact that some of his players who went to the World Cup didn’t return to training until late.

The pressure is on Mourinho after a tough second season at the club. Even though they finished second in the Premier League, they were comfortably short of champions Manchester City, and fans weren’t impressed by the style of football played by Mourinho.

In particular, Mourinho was hoping to bring in a centre back, with a right winger also high up on his shopping list. Here are five men United missed out on this summer.

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#1 Harry Maguire (Leicester City)

Maguire had a brilliant World Cup with England

It is rumoured that Maguire was Mourinho’s number one target this summer, after the Englishman impressed at the World Cup, playing a crucial role as the Three Lions reached their first semi-final since 1990. The 25-year-old also had an excellent first season with Leicester City, winning the club’s Player of the Year award after completing a £17 million move to the King Power Stadium from Hull City last summer.

His performances on the world stage meant Leicester were able to set an £80 million asking price for Maguire, a world record fee for a defender. This was seen as too much for Ed Woodward though, and he refused to pay that high an amount. He would have been an excellent player for United, as he is a solid centre back, and has the ability to bring the ball out of defence. He would have really improved the Red Devils squad, so Mourinho will have been disappointed to miss out on Maguire.

#2 Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich)

Boateng struggled at the World Cup in Russia

With the Maguire deal off the table, United reportedly showed an interest in Boateng, who has impressed in his recent years at Bayern Munich, but had a poor World Cup, which ended with a sending off against Sweden. That didn’t put off United and Mourinho though, who were keen to add the German to their backline.

Despite the success that he has had in the Bundesliga, he probably isn’t as good a defender as Maguire, but given the inconsistent performances of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones at times last season, he would still be an upgrade on this current United defence. It was Boateng though who decided against a move to Manchester, because he wants to win the Champions League again in his career, and he doesn’t believe there is a chance of that at Old Trafford.

#3 Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)

Godin is one of the top defenders in the world

Rumours of this deal almost came from nowhere on transfer deadline day. Godin’s agent approached United a couple of days previously, and informed the club that the Uruguayan centre-half was interested in joining. However, this proved to be just a ploy by Godin’s agent to get his client a better contract at Atletico.

This will have been a shame for United, because had they been able to pull off this deal, they would have been signing arguably the best centre back in the world at this moment in time. He has shown in his years at Atletico and at the World Cup with Uruguay, that he is a superb defender, and he would have been a brilliant signing for United. He had a release clause of around £18 million, so would have also been a bit of a bargain.

#4 Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham)

Alderweireld is still to agree a new contract at Tottenham

Of all the players on this list, Alderweireld seemed the most likely to move to Old Trafford this summer. He has looked unhappy at Tottenham over the past year, unable to agree a new contract, and was a man who had his eye on a move to United over the summer. He was perhaps not helped by the fact Tottenham failed to bring in anyone over the summer, so there was no natural replacement for him at the club.

Unlike some of the other players on this list, the 29-year-old has an awful lot of Premier League experience, and has proved he is more than capable of performing in the best league on the planet. Injuries restricted him to just 14 league appearances last season, but he proved during the summer with Belgium that those injury worries were behind him, so he would have been able to come straight into this United side.

#5 Willian (Chelsea)

Willian was unhappy under Antonio Conte at Chelsea

The only player on this list who isn’t a centre back. Jose Mourinho was keen for a reunion with Willian, a man who he could certainly rely on during his time managing him at Chelsea. This was also one of the positions that he was hoping to strengthen this summer, having struggled to find someone who could consistently perform on the right flank last season.

Had Antonio Conte remained at Stamford Bridge this summer, it seems almost inevitable that Willian would have been on his way out, with a bidding war between United and Barcelona likely to commence. However, Willian has clearly met with new manager Maurizio Sarri, and decided to remain at the club. The Brazilian was clearly Mourinho’s number one target on the right wing, as United didn’t make a move for any other player in that position.