Manchester United have been tipped to back manager Jose Mourinho with a January budget that could exceed £100m, with the Portuguese said to be chasing a central defender and a goalscorer when the transfer window opens in barely two months' time.
Mourinho was eager to land a new centre-back all summer but the United hierarchy failed in their efforts to secure some targets and refused to deliver others.
There were murmurings after the August deadline passed that Raphael Varane was of interest but Real Madrid refused to sell, while other targets like Harry Maguire were vetoed at board level because it was believed they offered no upgrade on existing players.