Manchester United's 2018 summer transfer window was not exactly a successful one.

After finishing second under Jose Mourinho's rule, the Red Devils were expected to kick on and dive into the market to boost their chances of challenging for the title.

However, Mourinho's wishes were never granted by Ed Woodward and the board, with Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant the only arrivals at Old Trafford.

The Special One was desperate to land either Toby Alderweireld or Harry Maguire to reinforce his defence, but United failed to recruit either - or any other centre-back in 2018.

But it seems Mourinho could have been granted his wish for an elite centre-back if he had shared the same vision as Ed Woodward that summer.

According to Manchester Evening News, the Portuguese stopped United pursuing the executive vice-chairman's dream duo of Raphael Varane and Marco Verratti because they were 'unattainable'.

Woodward viewed the pair as the ideal candidates to build a new spine and was prepared to pay over £100m for Varane - who is a boyhood United fan.

But Mourinho never saw the Frenchman - who he worked with at Real Madrid - as a viable option and instead considered various other candidates.

As for Verratti, the Red Devils instead signed Fred for £52m, who has gone on to be one of the worst signings in the club's history.

Had Mourinho and Woodward been on the same wavelength that summer, things could have been very different for United.

The team was in form, had Champions League football and possessed a world-class manager, three things that would surely tempt most players across the continent to sign.

But Mourinho was having none of it, instead shortlisting Maguire, Alderweireld Milan Skriniar, Kalidou Koulibaly, Jerome Boateng and Diego Godin as potential defensive signings.

He even contemplated more junior options in Benfica's Ruben Dias and Nikola Milenkovic of Fiorentina, rather than pursuing Varane.

United then went on to have their worst defensive season in 40 years as they shipped 54 goals in the Premier League.