A few weeks ago, in one of the quieter moments on Manchester United’s preseason tour, Jose Mourinho asked Paul Pogba a question he didn’t want to ask and that he knew would create a lot of noise. He wondered whether the French star would consider occasionally playing as a defensive midfielder this season.

It was all the more galling for Mourinho because club sources say he has a lot of faith that Pogba will make a big leap this season, and even believes he can hit up to 15 goals.

The very question however reflected how difficult United were finding it to sign a defensive midfielder, represented a big reason why Mourinho was last week so publicly disgruntled with their transfer business, and is now why he is much happier.

How Manchester United could line up next season Show all 12 1 /12 How Manchester United could line up next season How Manchester United could line up next season How could United line up? Jose Mourinho's side have been linked with dozens of new signings, but who is most likely to line up for the club in time for the start of the 2017/18 season? Getty How Manchester United could line up next season Goalkeeper – David De Gea Reports in Spain now suggest De Gea will stay at United once again as Real Madrid have failed to convince the club to sell. Getty How Manchester United could line up next season Right back – Serge Aurier Serge Aurier is believed to be in advanced talks with Manchester United ahead of a £25m move to Old Trafford. However visa issues are delaying the move so far. Getty How Manchester United could line up next season Centre-back – Eric Bailly Bailly had a phenomenal first season at United and looks like he will be the bedrock of Mourinho’s defence for the foreseeable future. Getty How Manchester United could line up next season Centre-back – Victor Lindelof Victor Lindelof has joined the club from Benfica and will start in the heart of United's defence. Getty How Manchester United could line up next season Left-back – Danny Rose Danny Rose is pushing for a move north and Manchester United are known to be interested in the left-back as Luke Shaw's future grows even more uncertain. Getty How Manchester United could line up next season Midfield - Ander Herrera A fan favourite at Old Trafford, Herrera's tenacious performances in the middle of the park last season saw his stock rise immeasurably. With Wayne Rooney's days numbered, the Spaniard may be in line to take the captain's armband. Getty How Manchester United could line up next season Midfield – Nemanja Matic The signing of Matic is one that screams not only of the need for discipline in the heart of this United team, but one that reiterates how the Portuguese is looking for players who can help him win now, not a couple of years down the line. Getty How Manchester United could line up next season Midfield – Paul Pogba Mourinho is known to want to bring in a defensive midfielder in order to free up the Frenchman to operate further up the field. Getty How Manchester United could line up next season Left-wing - Marcus Rashford The young English forward has done enough to earn Mourinho's trust and should be used in the first XI far more next term. Getty How Manchester United could line up next season Right-wing – Ivan Perisic United are only willing to spend £35m on Perisic but Inter want £50m. The club are still confident they can push the deal through. Getty How Manchester United could line up next season Striker - Romelu Lukaku Mourinho has prioritised a new No.9 this summer following Zlatan Ibrahimovic's season-ending injury and subsequent release and has opted for Lukaku as his top choice. Getty Images

By getting his former Chelsea lieutenant Nemanja Matic, the United boss also got his top priority for the summer beyond signing a primary centre-forward. That is how crucial a defensive midfielder was to his plans. The Portuguese now has his framework, but he still doesn’t have complete satisfaction.

The tension that arose over transfers in the past month has been eased, but hasn’t completely gone away. United sources say Mourinho still believes they should have done the vast majority - if not all business - before the US tour to give him more time to work with players and also feels that delays have also made the actual deals more difficult too, especially in the case of Ivan Perisic.

The Croatian - or someone a lot like him - represents the main piece missing from Mourinho’s ideal structure, if not quite ideal XI. As it stands, his likely starting line-up would be: David De Gea; Antonio Valencia, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw; Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera; Marcus Rashford, Pogba, Jesse Lingard or Henrikh Mkhitaryan; Romelu Lukaku.

Mourinho is happy with United's transfer business but wants more (Getty)

The Portuguese does really like Lingard as a useful player - and big-game scorer - but he also represents the obvious area where that side could be upgraded, where Mourinho could still do with the type of classically Mourinho wideman that Perisic represents. United are wary of doing business with Internazionale again after the frustration of negotiating for the £48m-priced winger over the last two months, but those close to the clubs still think it will eventually happen.

Those close to Old Trafford, however, do not think Anthony Martial will be going the other way. Ed Woodward and many others in the hierarchy believe he is a precocious talent to be invested in for the future, but there is also an argument that he is badly needed right now, even if not always a starter.

Martial is one of the few players among their attacking options who offers that something different, that bit of unpredictable - if often erratic - magic. It leads to another lingering question about United’s transfer business this summer, especially in attack.

They have already again been put forward as likely favourites for the title along with neighbours Manchester City, but there does appear to be something of a discrepancy in terms of attacking quality. Whereas United have Lukaku, Martial, Rashford, Mkhitaryan and Mata as primary options, with Lingard, Ashley Young and Marouane Fellaini as back-ups - although Mourinho is known to be a fan of Scott McTominay - in what are fairly fixed positions, City have many different fluid attacking possibilities that can consist of: Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus and potentially Alexis Sanchez. All are capable of that Martial magic, some very consistently, and all would be primary options anywhere else.

Matic's arrival is particularly pleasing for Mourinho (Manchester United)

That is why there is still a feeling that United need that true elevation in attacking quality this season, and why it would make more than commercial sense to still buy a “star”.

It probably doesn’t help that that Mourinho bases many attacking signings on their defensive qualities, but then he did want another striker this summer, but effectively had to pick between that and other priorities. That has pointed to another source of tension in that there is a feeling that the Glazers have slightly tightened spending this summer. If Mourinho had his way, he would still bring that extra attacker and two full-backs. Serge Aurier has been offered to United as well as a few clubs, and a deal could be done for the right price for the side of the pitch. For the left side, though, the Portuguese is said to have been impressed with Shaw’s response to last season’s rigours and now has much more faith in him. The feeling, according to one source, is that “the penny has dropped”.

It also greatly eases all of this that Mourinho can now instantly drop in to defensive midfield a player he completely trusts and who completely understands what he wants in Matic.

Manchester United summer transfer targets Show all 8 1 /8 Manchester United summer transfer targets Manchester United summer transfer targets Ivan Perisic, Inter Milan United want to spend £35m on Perisic but Inter are holding out for closer to £50m. That said, Mourinho is a big fan and may be willing to go the extra mile to get him. Likelihood: 7/10 Getty Manchester United summer transfer targets Renato Sanches - Bayern Munich Sanches was being chased by United before deciding on Bayern Munich last summer but is back on their radar again 12 months later. He is available for £43m and Ancelotti has admitted United are "a possibility". Getty Manchester United summer transfer targets Fabinho - Monaco An extremely versatile player Mourinho sees him more as a defensive midfielder and could be used to give Paul Pogba, last summer's big addition, more freedom. Monaco aren't in any rush to lose any more first team stars this summer though and are likely to demand a hefty fee. Likelihood: 7/10 AFP/Getty Images Manchester United summer transfer targets Eric Dier - Tottenham United have already had a bid less than £25m rejected for the defensive midfielder and know they must more than double it to have any hope of signing Dier, who is understood to want the move. Getty Manchester United summer transfer targets Nemanja Matic - Chelsea Nemanja Matic has twice worked under Jose Mourinho before and he wants to make it a third time at United. However, after beating Chelsea to Romelu Lukaku, relations between the two clubs have been soured somewhat. Getty Manchester United summer transfer targets Gareth Bale - Real Madrid The Real Madrid forward would be a marquee signing, the type that the Manchester United boardroom are keen to make, and The Independent has been told by sources from both United and Madrid that a deal is 'much likelier' than ever before. The player himself though is happy in the Spanish capital. Likelihood: 5/10 Getty Manchester United summer transfer targets Willian - Chelsea Mourinho is a huge admirer of Willian, who he signed in 2013 while at Chelsea. The pair won a Premier League title and League Cup double together the following year and it is believed that the United manager will do his best to sign the player, who has not been a regular starter in Antonio Conte’s system. Whether Chelsea will allow him to leave, particularly to join Mourinho at their rivals is yet to be seen. Likelihood: 4/10 Getty Manchester United summer transfer targets Andrea Belotti - Torino Another of Europe’s most promising players, Belotti is fast becoming well-known after his outstanding performances at Torino, where he has scored 37 goals in 64 appearances since 2015. His best years are still ahead of him aged just 23, which contributes to the incredible €100m release clause, applicable only to clubs outside of Italy, negotiated into his contract. Torino are in no hurry to sell and will drive a hard bargain with any deal likely to start at upwards of £70m. Likelihood: 7/10 Getty

It should ensure that the base of the team functions exactly as the Portuguese wants, too, allowing them all to play much higher up the pitch and completely freeing Pogba. Mourinho also greatly believes that will ensure the French star can really express himself this season, can really double down on the obvious talent that he only dabbed at the league with last season; that he can then get those 15 goals.