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That’s because the former Chelsea midfielder does not believe the manager will be given such a mid-season kitty given the fact his future was uncertain so recently.
Reports earlier this week indicated that United would give Mourinho more than £100m to bring in new players in January.
The Portuguese boss was left frustrated a few months ago after being denied a commanding central defender and a goalscoring wide-man in the summer, his spending bettered by Liverpool and Chelsea and even the likes of Fulham, West Ham and Everton.
But ESPN report that United will at least look to bring in a new centre half in the upcoming window, with Inter Milan ace Milan Skriniar, AC Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli and Fiorentini’s Nikola Milenkovic among those apparently under consideration.
That’s after United were linked with the likes of Harry Maguire, Jerome Boateng and Toby Alderweireld in the summer, with the club’s hierarchy deeming none of the trio worth their reported values.
But Burley does not believe suggestions that United are willing to back Mourinho in the transfer market now, with the Portuguese having been strongly tipped for the sack just a fortnight ago.
The Red Devils have appeared to steady the ship after a rocky period on and off the pitch but with United’s future in the Champions League this term far from guaranteed, Burley has doubts that United would even be able to tempt targets to the club.
He said on ESPN FC: “Why would you go and spend £100m in January when we’ve sat and talked for donkey’s years about you’re not going to get the best players in January?
“We can’t even guarantee if United are going to be in the Champions League in January because they’re in a tight group with [Juventus and] Valencia.
“Who are they pitching to? I don’t buy it. Two weeks ago he was getting sacked in 48 hours, that was leaks from the club or Mourinho’s people but it was potential.
“Now all of a sudden he’s getting £100m in a transfer window you don’t tend to spend money? No.”
Mourinho has regularly voiced his discontent at failing to get all of his desired targets in the summer and after a Champions League defeat to Juventus this month, praised the Italian’s approach to recruiting new players.
He said: “Juventus is champions for seven years, I think seven years in a row, two Champions League finals in the last four or five years and not happy with what they have, they want more, they want more.
“They had [Gonzalo] Higuain, [Mario] Mandzukic, Dybala but they want more. They want [Cristiano] Ronaldo. They had [Andrea] Barzagli, [Giorgio] Chiellini, [Daniele] Rugani, they are not happy, they want more.
“They want [Leonardo] Bonucci and they go for the best players in the world.
“So big, big club with a big past but with also a big desire to have a big future and everything they put there to try to win, I don’t say [just] the Champions League, I think to win the treble.”
And on the difference between the two teams despite United’s net spend being in excess of £450million over the past four years, Mourinho added: “Juventus was in a different level of quality, stability, experience and know-how.”
United did one piece of notable business in January last year in signing Alexis Sanchez in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan go the other way to Arsenal, but the Chilean has struggled since moving to Old Trafford.
Sanchez’s form and the misfiring of strikers Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford – with one goal between the two in the last nine games – is one such reason for Mourinho’s determination to sign another forward.
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