Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows that he needs five new players at the Old Trafford club in order to make his mark moving forward. At the time he was made the permanent manager, after the sacking of Jose Mourinho, with Mike Phelan also returning to the club, it was adjudged by the assistant manager, Phelan, that United needed nine new signings – already making four is still needing another five. Whether they will all arrive this summer remains to be seen.
The report, which comes from The Telegraph, gives a lot of indication that Solskjaer and Phelan are seeking to build something at the club and seem to have moved in the right direction to getting that done. The coronavirus pandemic which has seemingly ravaged the world and upset the financial stability at many top clubs around the world, could be the main thing that stops United signing many new faces this summer, but United are likely to delve into the transfer market, which is a good sign.
It is suggested that after the signing of Daniel James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes, five more positions need to be filled at the Old Trafford club; a right-winger, striker, midfielder, centre-half and probably another full-back. Luke Shaw’s recent injury has left United light in the fullback ranks with Brandon Williams not the player he can be in the future, which was shown by the way he was beaten quote often against West Ham United on Wednesday. Learning in progress for the teenager, which is a good thing.
This summer, if United do not get all five signings that they need, they will need to focus on a right-winger, midfielder and a central defender, which are the three positions that need to be strengthened and would help Solskjaer build a strong core to his team. If he can bring in another fullback with experience, that would be a great sign too. However, I understand that in the new financial climate, this might not be possible, unless Ed Woodward has been playing the media.
If United finish in the top four of the Premier League this weekend, which looks promising considering they moved up to third after their 1-1 draw with West Ham United on Wednesday and Chelsea losing 5-3 to Liverpool, both United and Chelsea will need a point from their final match of the season to guarantee UEFA Champions League football. With this being confirmed as early as Sunday evening, it could see United move forward with their transfer plans as soon as the transfer window opens on Monday.
However, if Champions League is not confirmed on Sunday, meaning that United lose to Leicester City, United might not be prepared to move until they have played in the UEFA Europa League, which would be their only other pathway to the Champions League next season, which will mean they will need to win four matches on the bounce too earn that feat, which is possible but would waste time they could use in the transfer market so pushing forward on Sunday is needed by each and every player that is selected to represent United on Sunday.
It is quite possible that United sell many players this summer with Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira, and Alexis Sanchez all seemingly surplus to requirements. If Solskjaer and United can get some good deals confirmed for these players, it will add some money to his transfer funds, also cutting the wages of the club with many of these players high earners at the club, which would be a welcome outcome for Woodward and the clubs board.
Solskajer will know what he needs to do in order to get the right results both on and off the pitch. It could well be that the six players mentioned above are either sold or loaned out next season, therefore cutting the wages as if loaned, the loan clubs would pay all or a proportion of the player’s wages during the loan spell so that would be a winner for Solskjaer and the club to – although selling these players, if possible would be what the club hoped to do.
It all seems exciting that we could finally see something spectacular at United this summer – the club moving on some players who are no longer first choice names at the Theatre of Dreams and bringing ins some new faces, which would also raise the quality level with the club, therefore improving the club significantly and helping the youth of the club, who will be coming through the ranks, learn some valuable experience training with these better players on a day to day basis, creating something similar to what Sir Alex Ferguson created at the club. I can dream right? However, I think this will become a reality, if not this summer, definitely by the next.
Written by John Walker
