A stunning report has revealed Jason Wilcox may have overpaid by as much as double for a player who doesn’t isn’t what Manchester United need.

Wilcox serves as Man Utd’s director of football, and throughout the course of what’s been a dire campaign so far, he’s come under increasingly heavy fire.

His assembling of United’s squad is in the spotlight, with the decision not to sign a left-back or striker already backfiring.

What’s more, a recent report from the BBC noted that internally, Man Utd already believe the decision not to sign players in those positions over the summer as ‘flawed’.

Instead, Man Utd and Wilcox focused almost exclusively on the midfield, with three new faces arriving.

Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba were the trio, and eyebrows were raised when United committed to a package totalling £50m (£48m plus £2m in add-ons) for Santos.

The Brazilian was never more than a bit-part player at Chelsea, and the latest from the Athletic strongly suggests Wilcox was rinsed by the Blues.

Chelsea stunned Man Utd paid £50m for Andrey Santos – report

In a piece that ran the rule over Wilcox who was booed heavily by United fans during Wednesday night’s clash with Roma, the report read: ‘Others have questions about the quality of signings, including Andrey Santos joining for £50m.

‘Some people close to Chelsea regarded the 22-year-old as worth half that price. His mobility in midfield, alongside Youri Tielemans, appears at odds with what United required.

‘United would doubtless counter that the market was inflated across the board.

‘They feel they made signings based on the need for depth in midfield, sticking to a budget and selecting players in Santos and Carlos Baleba who can develop.’

The lack of mobility from Tielemans and Santos is an important point to make. Neither player gets around the pitch all that well, nor does Kobbie Mainoo.

And for Michael Carrick who utilises a two-man midfield with the third man playing further forward as a No 10, it’s extra important to have double pivots who can cover ground quickly.

The lack of athleticism in midfield is one of the reasons why Man Utd have been so easy to play against this season, and why clean sheets are in desperately short supply.

Furthermore, United’s lack of physicality has been named by the Daily Mail as the primary reason why Xabi Alonso gave Estevao his first Premier League start of the season against Man Utd last weekend.

Alonso harbours doubts over 19-year-old Estevao’s ability to cope with more physical Premier League sides. But given United are a viewed as a soft touch and nice to play against, Alonso selected Estevao from the off and the Brazilian dazzled in the 2-0 victory.