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What's the story?
Jose Mourinho started this transfer window wanting to shore up his defence and is still vying to do the same. However, according to The Telegraph, the Portuguese manager was stopped from buying Alex Sandro from Juventus and was told by the club that they cannot stockpile defenders.
In case you didn't know...
Jose Mourinho's problems with Luke Shaw are well documented. It looked like Mourinho was looking to offload the young left-back and replace him with an experienced campaigner. United's first choice left-back from the 2017-18 campaign was Ashley Young but he is not getting any younger at 33.
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However, recent reports have suggested that Jose Mourinho trusts Luke Shaw to up the ante this season and pin down a starting spot.
The heart of the matter
Manchester United have been linked with Alex Sandro for quite a long time now. The Brazilian left-back was on top of Jose Mourinho's priority list. From 23 starts in the Serie A, Alex Sandro scored 4 goals and provided 4 assists.
The Red Devils are working hard on deals for Harry Maguire, Ivan Perisic and Willian but have been asked by the board not to pursue a deal for Sandro.
Recent reports have also suggested that Luke Shaw is going to be given another chance this time around and even Ashley Young had quite a spectacular World Cup outing.
It is also true that United have too many defenders on their payroll at the moment and it doesn't make much sense to load up at the back if the players are not going to be used anyway.
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Author's Take
Luke Shaw has impressed so far in the pre-season and with Ashley Young looking like he has one more solid season in him, the fact that they can't pursue Alex Sandro shouldn't bother United so much. They should try to get the rest of the deals done as early as possible though.
United started out as one of the favourites last time around. But their rivals have armoured up big time now. So it's best that they get their act together in the final couple of weeks of the transfer window.
