Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has two targets to fill the number 7 shirt Manchester United left the number seven shirt vacant after failing to sign a top class winger this summer

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has two targets to fill the number 7 shirt

Manchester United left the number seven shirt vacant after failing to sign a top class winger this summer

Jose Mourinho missed out on his elusive fourth signing before the transfer window shut - but the Manchester United manager is already anticipating a summer when two of his top targets are expected to become available.

Mourinho will have the season to weigh up whether to focus his attentions on Gareth Bale or Antoine Griezmann.

Attempts were made to sign both ahead of his second season in charge at Old Trafford - but United were ultimately forced to wait.

Atletico Madrid’s transfer ban ended any hope of landing Griezmann during this window, despite the Frenchman being identified as Mourinho’s priority target for months.

Such was the 26-year-old’s eagerness to head to Old Trafford that a potential January move was not being ruled out even after he signed an improved contract at Atletico.

With the Spanish club able to sign players from the New Year, they can work on finding a replacement for Griezmann - paving the way for his departure.

Bale, meanwhile, has offered little encouragement to United, with the Welshman determined to fight for his future at Real Madrid.

And the Spanish giants’ failure to land Kylian Mbappe meant there was no need to find a buyer for the 28-year-old this summer - even if emerging talents like Isco and Marco Asensio threaten to squeeze him out of Zinedine Zidane’s first team.

The hope within Old Trafford is Bale will eventually look to leave if his opportunities are reduced significantly.

Then it becomes a question of whether executive vice chairman Ed Woodward pushes for the player he’s coveted ever since taking control of United’s transfers - or moves for the younger Griezmann.

Mourinho is a confirmed admirer of both - but would struggle to accommodate them in a forward line that already consists of Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

Barring any significant departures, it is almost certain to come down to a straight choice between the two.

Griezmann’s €100m release clause could make him the cheaper option of the two, given the massive inflation in prices following Neymar’s £200m move to Paris St Germain.

Bale, however, has been a personal mission of Woodward’s for four years and counting.

His grand return to the Premier League would be considered a coup and a marketing dream for investors on the New York Stock Exchange.

Be it Bale or Griezmann, both are ready-made for the iconic No7 shirt, which has been left vacant this season.

United’s refusal to meet Inter Milan’s £50m asking for Ivan Perisic - in a summer of such inflation - suggests he was never considered an alternative to the world class wide player Mourinho truly coveted.

Bale and Griezmann, however, fit that description perfectly.