WHY cannot Manchester United sign four players? Speak up, Ed Woodward

Manchester United fans have been fuming since the moment the massive announcement came that Alvaro Morata has signed for rivals Chelsea, for a much-lesser fee than what Real Madrid demanded from United.

This is not the first time that United have been left embarrassed.

Some of the top footballers at the moment are showing the thumbs down to Manchester United, and we cannot help but understand that something is actually going really wrong at the club.

Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman of Manchester United and the mastermind behind the major signings of the club in recent years, has a lot of explanation to give.

Some hours back, club manager Jose Mourinho took to the mic in a press conference at the United States of America, ahead of their preseason match against Manchester City and revealed a bitter truth: The club has been made to curtail its signings this summer.

That specifically means Romelu Lukaku and Victor Lindelof could remain the only signings United have made ahead of Premier League 2017-18 season. If fans are lucky enough, they might see one more player joining the club this summer. But that will be it. No more.

"I asked for four players [for the club to sign this summer]," said Mourinho. 

"And I'm ready to go from four to three because the market is difficult, some clubs think the market is different from others. We are not a club that is not ready to buy and buy and buy non-stop, we are not a club that is ready to pay what the clubs want us to pay so I'm ready to go from four to three.

"And maybe three gives us a better balance for the squad and the team, and better conditions to compete."

It was claimed that Manchester United desperately needed/needs to rope in four specific players from the transfer window -- central defender, striker, winger and holding midfielder.

Now, this plan seems to have completely come to a standstill. Has something gone wrong in marketing the club properly or is not much emphasis being put in proper player negotiations. Or..is it simply jealousy that is making other European heavyweights play around with United and completely unsettle the club?

Clearly, Woodward, at some point, needs to address plenty of concerns. The statement from Mourinho comes after Woodward took an emergency flight to the US to hold a meeting with the former Chelsea manager and discuss about the club's transfer situation.

With Tottenham Hotspur absolutely unmoved in discussing the sale of midfield star Eric Dier to United and the fate of Ivan Perisic also up for grabs after the Croatian travelled with Inter Milan for their preseason training, United's summer transfer plans have hit a major blow.

Midfielders Nemanja Matic, of Chelsea, and Marco Verratti of PSG, remain the only two known transfer targets of United, now. While Matic has been pursued for some weeks, Verratti's roping in of super-agent Mino Raiola has opened up a possibility of the Italian star moving to Old Trafford.