Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has said that his side are not "big candidates" to win the Premier League title next season, but expects them to be in the race.

United slumped to a lowly sixth-place finish during Mourinho's debut campaign last term, although that disappointment was offset by success in the EFL Cup and Europa League, the latter of which sealed their place in the 2017-18 Champions League.

The likes of Manchester City and Chelsea have joined United in spending big money so far this summer in what is expected to be another fierce battle at the top of the table, but Mourinho also believes that Tottenham Hotspur will again be in the mix despite being the only club in the league yet to sign a player.

"I don't think we are big candidates for the title but we are [candidates]. Everybody speaks about the dimension of the investment at Man City [so far just below £220m] but there is another team that I feel the dimension of their investment is also phenomenal – Tottenham. Until now they spent zero pounds, right?" he is quoted as saying by The Guardian.

"They keep everybody they want to keep. They keep Dele Alli, [Harry] Kane and [Toby] Alderweireld, they keep Eric Dier, they keep everyone they want to keep. They sold Kyle Walker I think because they wanted to sell. And probably because they think [Kieran] Trippier is as good as Walker. And he's younger than Walker.

"Chelsea are champions and they buy now. We are halfway through the market and they buy [Antonio] Rudiger, [Tiemoue] Bakayoko and [Alvaro] Morata. So every club makes different kinds of investments but all of them are investing a lot to win the title."

United will begin the new league season against West Ham United at Old Trafford on August 13.