The Red Devils may be well-stocked in the creativity department, but a mooted move for Inter's Croatian winger                                  Juan Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard - £124 million worth of talent and two home-grown stars.

Manchester United are already well-stocked in the creativity department, with it possible to throw £89 million record signing Paul Pogba into the mix as well – as a central midfielder expected to pull the strings and bridge the gap between defence and attack.

The Red Devils are, however, a club always looking to further themselves.Mourinho had already ruffled his hair and gone cap in hand to Ed Woodward before the final ball had been kicked in the season just gone, with the Portuguese admitting after a Europa League triumph over Ajax that a list of transfer targets had been passed on.

“Please sir, can I have some more?”

One deal has already been put in place, with Sweden international defender Victor Lindelof set to reinforce a defensive unit which, while faring admirably in Mourinho’s first season at the helm, is yet to truly convince and has too many members made of glass that are always liable to take in enforced spells on the treatment table.

At the other end of the field, name a leading striker in one of Europe’s top divisions and United will have been linked with an approach at some stage – Belotti, Griezmann, Morata, Lukaku, Mbappe, the list goes on and on.

It is, however, in the aforementioned playmaking department that the Red Devils could make another sizeable splash in the summer transfer pool.

Too many missed opportunities in 2016-17 cost United a shot at the top four, never mind the top-flight crown, with Mourinho’s men uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal and all too often frustrated by stubborn opponents prepared to bolt the back door.United have the players capable of picking such locks, but Martial and the much-maligned Wayne Rooney were the only players to reach double figures last season when combining their goal and assist tallies – and both only just scraped into that bracket with 10.
Mata managed a tally of nine in the Premier League, Rashford six, Mkhitaryan five and Lingard three.United are looking to further reinforce their ranks, and Inter winger Ivan Perisic is a player they are said to have their eye on.

It is easy to see why their gaze may have shifted towards the San Siro, with the Croatia international showing over recent years that he is capable of offering the kind of dual threat which could spark the Red Devils back into life.

If United are to spend big on a high-profile frontman, then they will need somebody to provide the ammunition for said recruit.

They will also be demanding a healthier return of goals from those occupying wide or deep-lying roles, with it important that the load is shared and a repeat of the over-reliance on Zlatan Ibrahimovic  is avoided.