Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has won a crucial transfer battle

Even at his most Machiavellian Jose Mourinho couldn’t have planned it better if he tried.

And in typical fashion, the Manchester United didn’t waste the chance to politicise the situation to his advantage.

“For 10 months I get asked ‘why always Lukaku?' he said in response to United’s witless and lifeless defeat to Brighton on Friday night.It was a message not only to the media and supporters, but the club’s hierarchy too.

He might as well have signed off with ‘Are you listening Ed Woodward?’

Mourinho’s mind has been on his summer business since signing a contract extension in January.

But this was the ideal opportunity to make a statement - and he wasn’t about to waste.
In one game, Martial and Rashford demonstrated exactly why they don’t elicit the same trust from their manager.

And they are not alone.

Mourinho need only point to the 1-0 defeat on the south east coast when handing Woodward a definitive wanted list this summer.

No more can he be accused of holding talent back. Instead he can claim United’s chances of genuinely challenging for the Premier League title are being held back by the players who simply haven’t performed often enough.