Paul Pogba riddle: Who will Jose Mourinho sign instead if deal collapses?
Nemanja Matic, Toni Kroos and Aaron Ramsey all in the frame to become Jose Mourinho's fourth capture of the summer
JOSE MOURINHO has three of the four players the Old Trafford board agreed he could buy: now for the fourth.
Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are in the bag and Paul Pogba may be on the way for a mega £105million.
But should Juventus play hard ball and not let the French midfield playmaker go, Mourinho must think again.
Of his transfer dealings so far, the new Manchester United boss said: "I asked them for four profiles of players, I gave them a few options and they did for me 75 per cent of the job and we just have 25 per cent to do before August 31."
So who will be the fourth man if the Pogba deal falls through?
Here, SunSport considers the Portuguese maestro's options as he bids to put together the United transfer jigsaw puzzle:
1 Nemanja Matic
THE Serbian ace boasts a key role in the Pogba 'will he, won't he' join United riddle.
For Juventus seem keen to take the £35million-rated defensive midfielder should Pogba end up at Old Trafford.
If not, Mourinho knows all about the 27-year-old from their Chelsea days and is a keen admirer. He would be happy be to be re-united with his old enforcer.
2 Toni Kroos
THE 27-year-old Real Madrid central midfielder would be a viable alternative to Pogba.
The German would probably cost around £47million, but current form and potential suitability for the Premier League make him a key target.
Manchester City are also interested so this could throw up the first big battle between Mourinho and Pep Guardiola who, of course, managed Kroos for one season at Bayern Munich.
3 Aaron Ramsey
SURPRISINGLY, Mourionho may be able to land the Welsh wizard for around £30million.
Ramsey, 25, is an enterprising midfielder whose all-round versatility was best displayed during Euro 2016. Indeed, many fans argue that had the Arsenal man not been suspended for the semi-final with Portugal the Wales might well have made the final.
Chris Coleman gave him a roaming 'licence to thrill' role rarely bestowed upon him at Arsenal - and Mourinho will have taken note...