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Jose Mourinho wants a new Makelele after putting title challenge failure down to not signing N'Golo Kante

Jose Mourinho has told Manchester United to prioritise the signing of a specialist holding midfielder player after blaming their lack of a Premier League title challenge on failing to land N'Golo Kante last summer.

Mourinho wanted Kante as the perfect defensive foil for Paul Pogba immediately after agreeing to take over at Old Trafford but had to concede defeat early on in the pursuit when the Leicester City’s French international made it clear he wanted to join Chelsea.

The calculating United manager started to build for next season by allowing Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger to leave thereby clearing the decks for a big midfield purchase this summer.