Jose Mourinho recently posted a picture of himself on Instagram captioned “Always working,” and Manchester United will need him to be busy this summer. After three seasons of underperformance and transfer windows which did not quite go well enough, he has a lot of work on his hands.

And that work has, of course, already begun.

Bringing in Eric Bailly is a forward-thinking long-term move, the kind which hints at the existence of a plan. But while he might have the necessary talents, the 22-year-old cannot be expected to slot straight in as a reliable first-choice Premier League centre-back.

Centre-back is a position which rewards experience. Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic both improved a great deal in their mid-to-late 20s, for example. At the 2008 UEFA Champions League final in Moscow—the end of their peak season together—they were 29 and 26 respectively.

So, some forward planning has clearly already been done, but what of the more short-term concerns?

To reshape the squad to his own ends, Mourinho will first have to decide on the formation he plans to set them out in. Louis van Gaal never quite seemed to settle on a plan, trying 3-5-2, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-4-1 during his time in charge. It seems reasonably safe to assume the Portuguese will not be so indecisive.

In broad terms, Mourinho-ball has generally meant a 4-2-3-1 with inverted wingers overlapped by attacking full-backs who provide width. In his final season at Inter Milan, for example, Brazilian right-back Maicon got more league assists than any other member of his squad.

His holding midfielders have often been physically imposing, but technique on the ball is obviously important to him too. Michael Essien in his first spell at Chelsea, Thiago Motta at Inter and Luka Modric at Real Madrid represent three different types in holding midfield, but each fit beautifully into Mourinho‘s midfield two.

The United manager has worked with some of the great forwards of their generation, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba—all very different types of player, each of whom excelled under his management.

What all this tells us is that given a certain level of quality, there is a lot of flexibility in the type of players Mourinho is prepared to deploy in specific positions.

It also tells us that his best teams have always had truly outstanding players as part of their make-up. One of the key things that needs to happen at United this summer is an upgrade in the baseline of quality of their squad.

Barring Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw and David De Gea, there are not too many players at Old Trafford that other top clubs would look at with envy. Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick were once that, and Marcus Rashford may well get there.

However, in general ever since United sold Ronaldo and brought in Antonio Valencia, Michael Owen and Gabriel Obertan, there has been a steady decline in overall squad quality.

The starting lineup for the 2008 Champions League final was packed with all-time heavy-hitters—the starting lineup for the 2016 FA Cup final was not. Even by the time of the 2011 Champions League final, it was clear a decline had set in.

Of course, not every player in a squad has to be at the very top level for that squad to be phenomenally successful—witness Jesper Blomqvist or David May in the 1999 squad, or John O’Shea in 2008. But the decent, useful squad players need to become the exception rather than the rule over the next few years if United are to get back among the elite.

This cannot happen in one summer. Indeed, the seeds of the 2007/08 season were sown long before. Ferdinand was signed in 2002, Ronaldo in 2003 and Rooney in 2004. Edwin van der Sar arrived in 2005, while Vidic and Patrice Evra were bought in January 2006.

Owen Hargreaves, Carlos Tevez and Anderson were the only key figures in the 2007/08 squad signed that summer—Nani also arrived then, but his impact was felt a little later.

Obviously, Sir Alex Ferguson had the luxury of long-term planning available to him in a way few other managers ever have done. His job came under some pressure in the mid-2000s, during what Gary Neville called “the Djemba-Djemba years” in his autobiography, Red, but the manager kept building and was richly rewarded.

Mourinho needs to improve things a little more immediately. To that end, the short-term thinking that would be involved were United to sign Ibrahimovic would be a helpful sticking plaster while the more major surgery is being undertaken.

Every player who comes in this summer needs to serve one of two functions. One option is that they upgrade the quality of the current first XI, which Ibrahimovic clearly would. The other is that they could potentially form part of an impressive Champions League final starting XI in four or five years’ time, which is presumably the hope for Bailly.

The side’s most obvious weakness is in defence. It is perhaps no coincidence that this is the area Mourinho has attempted to strengthen first. But Bailly cannot be the only defensive signing. A really top-drawer centre-back should remain No. 1 on the wishlist, though identifying that target will be a challenge in a highly competitive market.

That much is obvious. Less obvious is what to do about central midfield.

Carrick has signed a contract extension, and Rooney has finally made the move people have been expecting for a long time to become a midfielder for club and country.

Add Bastian Schweinsteiger—who looks revitalised by his recent injury break, is in good shape and scoring for his country at Euro 2016—Ander Herrera, Morgan Schneiderlin and there are five players available for two positions, without even considering Marouane Fellaini or the fact that Timothy Fosu-Mensah may well end up being a midfielder.

But even with all those options available, unless Schweinsteiger truly gets back to peak fitness, there are no world-class options there—no one on the level of Modric, Motta or Essien at their peaks.

Unless there are substantial outgoings, it is hard to see anyone of the highest level arriving—promising young talent would be a more likely fit here.

A right-winger to match the quality of Martial on the left could be a huge asset, and the rumoured links with Henrikh Mkhitaryan would make a lot of sense. His agent Mino Raiola—also Ibrahimovic‘s agent—has said the player wants to move to United, per Alex Bywater of MailOnline.

Mkhitaryan is coming off the back of a hugely successful season, with 11 goals and 15 assists in the Bundesliga and offers an almost unparalleled degree of positional flexibility. He has played left, right and central for Borussia Dortmund this season, both in deeper-lying and more advanced roles, per WhoScored.com. 

That level of flexibility would mean Mourinho could find a way to allow plenty of involvement for players such as Rashford and Memphis Depay while also adding quality to the side.

There is a lot of work to be done, but this summer has to be the start, rather than an end in itself. Next season should be one of building and consolidation—no one is expecting United to win the 2016/17 title, but a realistic run at the 2017/18 trophy has to be within striking distance this time next year.

For now, a combination of elite players in key positions and promising young talent is the key to reshaping the squad.

It is a good job Mourinho is “always working” because there is a lot of work to be done.

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