Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has insisted that Manchester United are still ‘working hard’ in the transfer market as the October 5th deadline edges ever closer.
So far, with just over two weeks to go until the window shuts, Manchester United‘s only piece of transfer business has seen the arrival of Donny van de Beek from Ajax, a deal swiftly wrapped up thanks to co-operation from Ajax chief executive and former United ‘keeper, Edwin van der Sar.
Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you have probably heard of United’s interest in signing Jadon Sancho this summer, though despite months of speculation, claims and counter-claims, a deal for the England international barely looks to be any closer.
As is often the case with United, they have also been linked with a number of other players this summer, the latest links suggesting that the club have agreed terms with Porto left-back Alex Telles, but are yet to come to an agreement with the club – something which seems to be a recurring theme.
However, despite a lack of movement to date, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has tried to assure frustrated fans that things are in motion behind the scenes.
“We’re looking at a small pool of players who can add to the quality of our team and let’s see what we can do. The club’s working hard and I understand that they’re working hard,” Solskjaer said at his pre-match press conference.
“When we sit down and we discuss, sometimes it doesn’t happen as planned. Life isn’t a straight line here, sometimes things happen and I’ve always said it – I’m very happy to work with these players.
Donny van de Beek could make his Manchester United Premier League debut today 🙌
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been VERY impressed by the former Ajax star 👀 pic.twitter.com/FCq21Flv6d
— Goal (@goal) September 19, 2020
“There’s still a few weeks left of the transfer window, it might happen that we get someone in. I’ve worked with the club and they know what I feel the team and the squad needs and let’s see if we can add to what we have.”
As part of his ongoing rebuild, Solskjaer has made no secret of wanting to sign the right kind of player, both in terms of footballing talent and off-field character, and the Norwegian once again opened up on the kind of players he is targetting.
“I want players in the building that we want to work with and who wants to be a part of it and who wants to be here,” Solskjaer added.
“You need the quality on the pitch, you also need the personal qualities but you must also really want to be here and you need to show that you want to be here – that’s really important for us as a group that we move forward.
“It’s not as big a pool as for other clubs because being part of Manchester United and being good enough for Manchester United is one thing, but then you’ve got another club who probably they want to keep that type of player who has that quality.
“Of course, you see other clubs and what they do, they put a challenge up for us and our response has to be results, that’s the response. We can be best at the things that don’t cost anything – the culture here, the training, the coaching, getting fitter.”
United get their season underway this afternoon with a home game against Crystal Palace, last weeks game against Burnley having been postponed due to their elongated 2019/20 campaign.
See also – Player Analysis: Just how good is Man United target Jadon Sancho?