Jose Mourinho wants Manchester United to back him in January and sign Serie A defenders Milan Skriniar and Alessio Romagnoli, claims ESPN.
United have made a disastrous start to the season and are already seven points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Mourinho lamented the club’s lack of action in the summer transfer window, particularly failing to strengthen at the back with a new centre-back.
Harry Maguire, Toby Alderweireld and Jerome Boateng were some of the defenders linked with a move to Old Trafford but nothing materialised.
United have dismissed suggestions Mourinho’s job is at risk but the Portuguese wants the club to prove it and back him heavily in January.
Mourinho still wants to bolster his defensive options and hopes the United board will be convinced by younger targets.
Chief executive Ed Woodward was not convinced investing huge sums into aging players like Boateng and Alderweireld represented smart business.
However, Mourinho has now earmarked Inter defender Skriniar and AC Milan centre-back Romagnoli, both 23, as potential targets.
Skriniar only joined Inter in 2017 but has quickly established himself as one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in Europe.
Mourinho conceded after United’s 0-0 draw with Valencia that they struggle to build from the back as they don’t have the players to do it.
Of players that have started at least four Serie A games this season, only Marlon Santos (95.2%) and Marco Sau (94.4%) have a better pass accuracy than Skriniar (93.2%).
