Three things Man United need to fix as Solskjaer takes temporary charge

Build a solid foundation

Mourinho complained long and loud about the failure of United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to land the transfer targets he wanted in the close-season and his fears were not unfounded.

United felt Mourinho had been backed sufficiently during a spree of around £400 million ($506 million) over two-and-a-half years, so Leicester’s Harry Maguire and Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld failed to arrive as defensive ballast.

Mourinho had been desperate to bolster his leaky defence but instead he had to make do with a unit that was hamstrung by the error-prone performances of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly.

The result was a woeful 29 league goals conceded in 17 games this season — more than any other side outside the bottom five.

In contrast, leaders Liverpool have benefited hugely from the expensive signing of Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk last season, while Manchester City and Tottenham have also thrived with solid rearguards.

Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar and Atletico Madrid’s Diego Godin are all reported to have interested United and could be targeted in the January transfer window.