Eric Dier was wanted by Manchester United this summer. (Getty Images)
Eric Dier was wanted by Manchester United this summer. (Getty Images)

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho insists Nemanja Matic was the midfielder he ‘really wanted’ to sign ahead of Eric Dier this summer.

United were keen on a move for the Tottenham midfielder and Mauricio Pochettino has criticised Mourinho’s attempt to ‘destabalise’ the England international.

Pochettino claims that he saw Mourinho laughing and speaking in Portuguese with Dier after United’s 1-0 win over Tottenham at Old Trafford last December.

After failing in their move for Dier, United ended up agreeing a £40 million deal with Chelsea to sign Matic, and Mourinho claims the Serb was always his first-choice target.

Mourinho says Nemanja Matic was the player he ‘really wanted’. (Getty)
Mourinho says Nemanja Matic was the player he ‘really wanted’. (Getty)

‘I have the player that I want to have,’ said Mourinho.

‘Probably I have the player I didn’t think it was possible to have, but in the end we got the player I really wanted.’