There will be no shortage of backing for Jose Mourinho in the transfer market this summer but Manchester United’s hierarchy could be forgiven for shifting a little uncomfortably in their seats at the prospect of the manager gearing up for another round of spending.

If the FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea, and a disconcerting second half of the season when more and more fault lines have appeared, have done anything, it is to reinforce the view that more signings alone may not necessarily be enough to help United bridge the gap.

Mourinho has signed eight players in two seasons as United manager and it offers a troubling reflection of the current landscape at Old Trafford that only one of those, Nemanja...