Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho made a transfer kick against Pep Guardiola

Less than four weeks before the start of the season – and the premature end of the transfer window – Jose Mourinho still has a lot of work to do in a summer when he intends to reorganize his team.

But the events of recent days perfectly demonstrated the value of possibly securing the most important Manchester United signature of this window.

Jorginho's decision to opt for the Chelsea Blue, rather than Manchester City, left Pep Guardiola in a department he was determined to tackle this summer.

He is now facing the prospect of moving to a third or fourth option – or He has also decided to replace Yaya Toure with a new replacement for at least six months.

Mourinho, meanwhile, landed his first midfield target at Fred – who would have been City player in January if Guardiola had made his way. 19659006] Read more

The city director had agreed with general manager Ferran Soriano and football director Txiki Begiristain that significant resources should be invested in Fernandinho's long-term successor by December.

admirable foresight that he acknowledged the difficulty of waiting until the summer to obtain a higher quality target in a constantly increasing market.

As such, City – not United – made a serious play for Fred in January, only for leaving their lawsuit in the face of Shakhtar Donetsk's insistence on his £ 52 million buyout clause.

Guardiola turned to Jorginho – who City were convinced that they could get for a good £ 10m less – while Mourinho and United have estimated £ 52m a reasonable price for a player that they believe is filling the gap left by retired Michael Carrick and proving the missing piece in a puzzle midfielder who has lacked balance.

Time will tell who was right – and the respective needs of both clubs can not be ignored – but Mourinho's decision-making spirit has locked up an essential part of his summer strategy, while Guardiola has been forced to rethink for the second time six or seven months.

Mateo Kovacic and Mario Lemina were among the alternatives established if the Jorginho case fell to the water. But the fact is, City did not believe it.

They were encouraged to believe that his transfer from Naples would be concluded before the World Cup – that he would be part of their tour group for their tour

Now, sources within Etihad suggest that the signature of a midfielder could be put on hold. That Jorginho would replace a player in Toure, who barely figured last season

No doubt they can afford to do without him

Ilkay Gundogan and Fabian Delph can both replace Fernandinho, 33 . [19659002] But Guardiola was aware of this in December when he made the signature of a midfielder a priority over the next two windows.

He had seen enough Fred to believe that it would be perfect for City and Premier League.

Mourinho also thought – and as with Alexis Sanchez in January, he convinced Ed Woodward to steal a march on the Premier League champions.

He sees Fred as a player capable of adding control, energy and creativity to United's midfield. Someone who will perfectly complement Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic in a midfielder trio that he hopes to be the heart of a serious title challenge.

There is still much to be done if United really wants to bridge the gap with the city – Gareth Bale or Ivan Perisic and a first-clbad back center would make a significant statement – but Fred has at least solved a critical area of ​​the city. Mourinho team

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