Mourinho pleased with transfers

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho admitted he was pleased the club managed to complete their transfers early, claiming they were aï¿½?very cleveraï¿½? with their off-season business.

The Red Devils secured some shrewd signings in the recently-concluded transfer period after snapping up striker Romelu Lukaku from Everton for A?75m and Nemanja Matic from Chelsea for A?40m in the early stages of the window.
And Mourinho believes securing those signings prior to Neymaraï¿½ï¿½s world-record aï¿½ï¿½222m move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain saved Man United from having to overspend to snap up their targets.

aï¿½?I think we were very clever,aï¿½? said Mourinho. aï¿½?We thought that something could happen that could change the market forever.

aï¿½?Normally the last part of the market is less expensive, but this season, after Neymar [left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in a world-record A?199 million deal], everything changed – and changed for the worse in terms of prices.

aï¿½?I think Lukaku on August 31 would have been A?150 million. Matic would have been A?60 million or A?70 million. Neymar changed everything. If the biggest transfer in history had still been Pogba, I think Philippe Coutinho [the Liverpool playmaker] would now be in Barcelona at A?101 million.

aï¿½?People look to the A?200 million figure now. Now the players of A?20 million became A?40 million, the players of A?40 million became A?60 million and everything changed. Lukaku and Matic, now, would have cost us A?200 million in total.

aï¿½?But because we did it in the first part of the summer, it was much less. I think we did well in financial terms and well in preparation terms, getting them before the season started. That is not crucial but it is important.aï¿½? aï¿½ï¿½ Sowetan .