Jose Mourinho 'learned of Manchester United's plans to sign Douglas Costa from Juventus' just hours before his sacking on Tuesday.
The United manager also had it confirmed that the club would sanction the much-needed purchase of a centre-back when the transfer window opened in January.
Mourinho had been complaining about a lack of investment to buy a top quality defender since the summer, but it appears United also wanted to bolster their attacking options with the signing of Costa.
According to The Sun, signing another forward was just as much of a priority as bringing in a centre-half next month.