To ensure that he doesn’t miss out on a winger yet again, Jose Mourinho has given Ed Woodward options.
Last summer, Mourinho made no secret of his desire to see an out-and-out wide man brought to Old Trafford in order to provide the necessary service to new forward Romelu Lukaku but United’s summer spending was restricted to Nemanja Matic, Victor Lindelof and the Belgian front man.
The Red Devils boss remains eager to add a winger to his ranks when the transfer window re-opens again next month and, according to well-connected journalist Duncan Castles, Mourinho has added Ajax’s Justin Kluivert to his shortlist of targets.
Having broken into the Ajax first team earlier this year, Kluivert has continued to impress and he was even singled out for personal praise by Mourinho after May’s Europa League final.
Didn't hang around https://t.co/RM6ecnZJZo
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) May 26, 2017
“I want you,” is what Mourinho is said to have told the youngster.
Kluivert, the son of Netherlands legend Patrick, now joins the likes of Thomas Lemar, Malcom and Christian Pulisic as players who Mourinho has instructed Executive Vice-Chairman Ed Woodward to get working on.
Woodward has reportedly green lit a January transfer budget of £80 million in the hope of seeing United apply the pressure on arch-rivals City, who sit 11 points ahead of the Red Devils in the Premier League table, with the halfway point of the season upon us.
Kluivert has just 18 months remaining on his current deal with Ajax and it’s believed that he will be moving on in the summer, at the very latest, with several clubs interested in acquiring his services.
The Mino Raiola-represented 18-year-old managed something his dad never could last month, when he scored a hat-trick for Ajax with each goal an absolute belter.
No wonder Mourinho rates him so highly.
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