Louis van Gaal sacked: Who will Jose Mourinho sign for Manchester United?

United are ready to give Jose Mourinho a £200m transfer budget after sacking Louis van Gaal

The imminent appointment of Jose Mourinho as Manchester United manager has sparked furious debate between fans over who Louis van Gaal’s replacement will sign in the summer.

The Independent understands that Van Gaal has been sacked by United, with a statement set to be made by the club this afternoon.

Reports suggest that Mourinho will be armed with up to a £200m war chest to strength United’s ailing squad, who despite winning the FA Cup on Saturday are in desperate need of reinforcing if they are to get back to the perch at the top of English football that they dominated for over 20 years under Sir Alex Ferguson.

According to The Guardian, Mourinho has already identified his transfer targets, and it could lead to drastic changes at Old Trafford if he goes on to land a handful of them – let alone all six.

The one that stands out is Everton and England international John Stones, with the 21-year-old heavily linked with United’s rivals in Chelsea and Manchester City. The Blues saw a £40m offer rejected by Everton last summer for Stones, but their failures under Roberto Martinez this season appear to have paved the way for the centre-back to leave in the summer.

Mourinho was of course at the helm at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea made repeated offers for Stones, and his interest in the defender – who will represent England at Euro 2016 – remains and a bid in excess of £40m could well be on the cards.

Mourinho’s other reported targets will see him attempt to bring in foreign talent to boost United’s squad – which could see fears at Old Trafford realised that Mourinho will have a negative effect on the club’s youth policy – with Andre Gomes, Joao Mario, Alvaro Morata, Mauro Icardi and Ezequiel Garay all said to be on Mourinho’s radar.

Morata is the one of most interest to fans not just of United, given that the Spain international has been heavily linked with both Arsenal and Chelsea. The Gunners are reported to have opened talks with Real Madrid in an effort to sign Morata should Real activate the €30m [£23.6m] release clause in his contract, while Chelsea’s interest comes from their incoming manager and former Juventus head coach Antonio Conte.

With the reports in mind, who could United attempt to sign this summer? Click on the gallery above to find out.

United have been linked with Gomez throughout 2016, but the Valencia midfielder would be another expensive acquisition at over £40m, while Sporting Lisbon’s Mario is valued at £27m. One player Mourinho knows well is Garay, with the Zenit St Petersburg defender playing under the Portuguese’s stewardship at Real Madrid until his move to Benfica in 2011.

Any move for Icardi would be the most surprising given that the Inter Milan captain has reaffirmed his commitment to the Serie A side, and stressed that he wants to remain in Milan for another season at least. Javier Zanetti, Inter club legend and current vice-president, told Gazzetta dello Sport this month: “We’ll have to see [about who we might have to sell], but we’ve got to talk to Roberto Mancini [the coach] about it first to make plans for next season. In any case, Icardi is certainly going to stay. He’s our captain and even he’s said that he’s staying.”