José Mourinho reportedly has to sell before buying anyone else

If José Mourinho wants to make any additions to his squad in January, he’ll have to sell players first. That’s according to the BBC’s Simon Stone, who claims that the Manchester United manager will be told that “the Old Trafford board want to control costs before sanctioning more outlay on new signings.”

Stone claims that Luke Shaw is the most likely to leave, though the future of Marouane Fellaini — whose contract expires at the end of the season — is unclear. The Belgian had seemingly established himself as one of Mourinho’s favourites, though it remains to be seen whether he’s considered a long-term option at Old Trafford. Let’s hope not.

It’s also worth noting that this news has broken on the day that rumours linking David de Gea with Real Madrid have resurfaced. There’s also gossip that Juan Mata could be on his way to the Bernabéu, but that would be a surprising move to say the least.

Truth be told, we were never expecting United to do business in January, especially not big business. But if Mourinho does want to bring someone in, he’s not short of players to shift.