Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is apparently using a five-tiered grouping system to determine who the priority transfers are for the club this summer, according to reports. The Norwegian has seemingly been using the lockdown to come up with a system to get the best out of the summer transfer window.
The coronavirus pandemic has already affected the Old Trafford club financially with United losing £28 million already and set to lose more as long as supporters are kept away from stadiums, which might be until there is a vaccine for the virus, which is not going to be a quick fix. It seems positive that Solskjaer has put this together though.
Normally, in the run up to the seasons end and the transfer window opening, there is not a lot of time to go though the players that the club has been scouting in order to build a team better placed to close up the gap between the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, who have all recently finished ahead of United.
United reportedly class Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish as ‘high priority’ category and according to The Independent, also view Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano and Swansea City’s Joe Rodon in that category, seemingly with the manager not quite as happy as he could be with the defence.
It is expected that Sancho would be the clubs first choice with them said to want to do anything to get that transfer across the line. However, a £100 million price tag could make the deal even more complicated this summer with United seemingly uninterested in breaking their current transfer record with a new summer signing.
United will need to balance the books if they do make a move for Sancho, saving money elsewhere, which is why Rodon of Swansea is also in the top category. Solskjaer is clearly not just looking for ability in his team, but promise and players that fit his work ethic, which is similar to Sir Alex Ferguson’s at the club, which did a lot of good at the club.
Many things could change as the Premier League season ends and the transfer window opens as Aston Villa, who are currently in the bottom three of the Premier League and looking likely for relegation, meaning Grealish’s price could drop, saving more for United to spend in other departments in the squad, solving more problems at the club.
It is also suggested that West Ham United’s Declan Rice and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Raul Jimenez are also stated further down the priority list in Solskjaer’s system with the pair, and probably other players being monitored ahead of the season officially ending and the transfer window opening.
It is certainly going to be an interesting summer at United with a few new faces expected in the team and with Odion Ighalo now being allowed to continue at United for the remainder of the season and into the next, United’s need for another striker is not as much a priority as it was. Here’s hoping that Solskjaer gets the business done for the club.
