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Manchester United have 15 days to find the missing piece of their midfield jigsaw Man Utd have made two midfield signings this summer, but they must make another before the transfer deadline. Jose Mourinho's relationship with Ed Woodward grew increasingly strained in the summer of 2018. Mourinho was far from content with life at United, frustrated with the lack of transfer activity, and he wanted that to be known when he spoke to reporters during the United States pre-season tour. "Of course I'm not happy," he responded when asked if he was pleased with the strength of his squad. United didn't sign another player for the remainder of the window, and Mourinho was sacked a few months later. Michael Carrick wants further additions to his squad this summer. United have spent £85million on three signings - Karl Darlow, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans - but they must make more before the transfer deadline. Carrick was valued so highly by Mourinho as a player that he joined Mourinho's coaching staff, but Carrick's approach to media engagements could not be further from Mourinho's. Mourinho saw press conferences as theatre and wanted to make headlines, while Carrick is disarming and doesn't give much away. He did call for more signings when he spoke in Dublin last week, though. "We always want to improve, we want to, you know, we want more, we need more, we keep looking for how we can do that, so that never stops. We're conscious of that and we've got to keep pushing," he said. The 'keep pushing' quote was as pointed as it gets from Carrick. It wasn't quite Mourinho openly admitting he wasn't happy with the transfer activity in 2018, but it was enough for the message to be heard upstairs. Carrick is aligned with Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox, Christopher Vivell and Matt Hagreaves, and even if he wasn't, he is not the type of character to lash out in the media. But his squad does need strengthening. United spent £215m on transfers (excluding add-ons) last summer. The Reds were not expected to match that significant outlay in this window, but they have spent so little that they could splash a combined £100m on a midfielder and a left-back and still have spent £30m less than last summer's total. You can not read too much into pre-season performances, but last weekend's defeat against AC Milan highlighted why a third midfield signing is required, if that reminder was somehow needed at all. Tielemans started alongside Santos at the base of the midfield behind Bruno Fernandes. Although Tielemans' passing was decent, he isn't the most mobile or the type of player who will offer strong protection to the back four. Santos wants to play as the No.6 and has the skillset to do so, but he is 22 and not yet the finished article. Ideally, United will sign a 'plug-in and play' midfielder who can take up the role Casemiro had in the team. However, the options have dwindled as the summer window has gone on. The final piece of the midfield jigsaw has yet to be found, and the chances of finding it have decreased as the transfer deadline approaches. United sources said there was a chance the Ederson deal with Atalanta could be revisited later in the window when they backed away from the transfer last month, but even that potential contingency plan has been foiled. Ederson signed a new contract with Atalanta, which kiboshed the chances of signing him for a lower fee, a suggestion that had been floated behind the scenes at United when the deal collapsed. The worrying thing is that signing a new left-back might have leapfrogged the signing of a third midfielder on United's agenda. Luke Shaw cannot play two games per week, and United know they would be setting him up to fail without signing a deputy for a 60-game-plus campaign, but the midfield should be the more urgent priority. Fernandes, Santos, Tielemans, Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount are the current options in midfield. It's a strong department, but is there enough defensive quality in there? United cannot afford to roll the dice to find out. The good news is that United have a kind start to the Premier League season, playing newly promoted Hull and Ipswich Town before the transfer deadline, so there is time to make signings, but the clock is running down. United are now facing a race against time to strengthen in the remaining 15 days of the window.