Manchester United's board have not made any serious plans to sign players in January due to concerns over Jose Mourinho's recent record in the transfer market, according to reports.
Mourinho has made no secret of his frustration at the club's failure to bring in defensive reinforcements during the summer as United missed out on the likes of Toby Alderweireld and Harry Maguire.
The manager is desperate to bolster his squad when the window reopens and has been linked with moves for Milan Skriniar, Nikola Milenkovic and Jerome Boateng amongst others
However, The Independent claims that Mourinho is yet to meet with Ed Woodward to discuss possible targets and that United's board are reluctant to back the Portuguese in the market.
Many of Mourinho's signings for United have been scrutinised, particularly in defence where his appeals for more investment come in spite of already bringing Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof to the club.
The United hierarchy are also understood to be concerned about Fred's arrival after beating Manchester City to the midfielder, but then seeing him fall down the pecking order already this season.
With Mourinho's long-term future still not secure due to the team's poor start to the season, the board are reportedly unwilling to invest large sums of money on his targets in January.