Jose Mourinho admitted he was "crying" for a player like Harry Maguire during the summer transfer window in 2018.
The former Manchester United boss was desperate to sign a centre-back, but wasn't able to land any of his targets, which included Maguire and Tottenham Hotspur's Toby Alderweireld.
Mourinho left United in December last year to be replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and is covering today's game versus West Ham as a pundit for Sky Sports.
After fellow pundit Roy Keane said United had no choice but to pay £80million for Maguire from Leicester in the summer, Mourinho nodded and said: "I agree.
"I was not an idiot when I was crying in the last pre-season for a central defender," added Mourinho.
"First of all, he has physical qualities. If Maguire does not come, then today you have (Victor) Lindelof and (Axel) Tuanzebe, or Lindelof and Phil Jones. It's a big difference."