Three questions Manchester United face ahead of the start of the season

Jose Mourinho bookended Manchester United's pre-season with surprise deployments of a back three, having built his career on formations with a four-man defence. The results have been mixed but it would wrong to read too much into two friendlies and even the Super Cup defeat, which came against the best team United are likely to face all year.

The question is, is now the time to experiment? Mourinho’s defenders will take time to adapt to the system and most of them are out of sorts. Victor Lindelof, in particular, looks like he will need a while longer to settle.

With Eric Bailly and Phil Jones likely to return for this weekend’s opener against West Ham, it might be time to revert to a four-man system, with Matteo Darmian and Antonio Valencia at full-back. If Mourinho wants to implement at back three, it may need perfecting at Carrington first.

The logical consequence of Nemanja Matic’s arrival is supposedly that Paul Pogba will be liberated to play at his best, as more of a box-to-box player who leaves his mark on matches. Whether that is the case or not depends on how Pogba is used.

It comes back to the formation question. In Skopje, with the back three in place, Pogba had a few bright moments on the counter but largely struggled to have an influence. His game is more suited to the old Mourinho standard 4-3-3. His best form at Juventus came as that left-sided central midfielder, roaming forward to contribute to attacks.

With a reliable holding midfielder in place, Mourinho now has the ability to play this way and release Pogba, but will only see the best out of the Frenchman if he does so.

Mourinho has three new signings but he wanted four and, even when praising the club’s business last week, he noted he could be happier. “The club did a fantastic job, absolutely fantastic, by getting three of them, which is difficult in the crazy market where we are now,” he said. “To get three out of four, I thank the club for that. I would be happier if they gave me four of four but they did a great effort for me.”

It is not quite damning with faint praise, but there is more than a hint of frustration there. Another is wanted, preferably a wide player of some description, and Danny Rose’s recent comments will not have gone unnoticed. None of United’s current left-backs have made the position their own, with Darmian currently the man in possession.

Of that set, only Luke Shaw offers a style close to Rose, but the 22-year-old appears least likely to establish himself as a regular starter this season given his persistent fitness issues. A move for Rose would make sense and would satisfy Mourinho, but it is up to United’s recruitment team to get it over the line.