Mourinho In Favour Of An Earlier Deadline

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that he would welcome an earlier finish to the transfer window.

Premier League bosses are set to vote on proposals to reset the deadline before the first round of fixtures begin each season.

The window currently closes on 31 August, almost three weeks after the start of the Premier League, and Mourinho confessed he would like to see the window close before the matches start in future years.

“My opinion is that we have to adapt to the situation, no matter what,” he told reporters. “But, as a football manager, I would prefer the window to close as soon as possible, so everyone knows the players they will have, the business is done earlier, and nobody is waiting until the last week.

“Then we wouldn’t have the situation where a player plays game one for one team and game two for another team. And, on the questions about if other leagues' [transfer windows] don’t close at the same time, that we [would be] in danger of losing players in the last weeks - the question is how many clubs are powerful enough to buy the best players in the Premier League?

“The answer is - there are not that many, so the risk is minimal. And even with these powerful clubs, they would know that if we can’t buy players after [the start of the Premier League season], then we are not going to sell. So if they’re interested in players from the Premier League they have to do it before the deadline. I repeat – as a football manager, I would like it to close before the first match.”

Mourinho also revealed that he is pleased with the business United have conducted in the transfer window this summer, and how his squad is shaping up after the arrivals of Victor Lindelof, Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku.
“My club did phenomenally well,” the boss noted. “I had four targets and we got three, and we got all of them before the first match of the season.

“So my club did great for me. We are in a stable situation - I told them to be cool, there is no pressure from me. We will be together again for another window in January and again next summer, but I am happy with the squad we have, and I’m ready to go without the fourth player.”