Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been urged to forget signing Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund this summer based on the price the Bundesliga club have put on the player ahead of the summer transfer window which is suggested to be £117 million, which is a lot of money in the current financial climate.
United are, however, considered to be one of the only clubs to be able to spend that amount of the player this summer, if they do actually want him. Tim Sherwood, who captained Blackburn Rovers to winning the Premier League title during the 1994/95 season, believe United would be better investing that money across the entire squad.
There is a common sense approach here but many will mock Sherwood, who did not have the best time as a manager at both Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa. Sherwood has a point – United need a right-winger, but fortifying the defence and the forward line will be money well spent too, despite the fact Odion Ighalo will be at the club for much of next season.
Sherwood feels that United would be better off looking at what the squad needs, trying to match that instead of spending another club record fee on a player that may or may not fit into the squad. Sancho would be a good buy considering his performances in Germany but there is a chance it might not work. Grealish has been linked to the club for a while with Sherwood seemingly opting for him. The former Rovers captain said:
“I look at that squad now and I think they’re two or three players short of challenging for the title.
“I think they need another striker…
“I think they need Jack Grealish, who is a brilliant player to have when teams sit back against them like Tottenham did the other evening.
“He can occupy the tight areas and create something.
“I think they need another centre-back as cover.
“If they can get that and they have the money to go out and buy those sort of players then I think they’ll be real challengers.
“I think [Ole Gunnar Solskjaer] done a brilliant building job.”
United could benefit from a new striker, which is something Solskjaer will be looking at, however, the urgency for that is lower now that Odion Ighalo has had his loan spell extended, seeing out the current delayed season, ending his spell at the Old Trafford club at the end of January 2021, which gives United time to find the right player.
Sherwood continued by saying that United have a strong defence but could find an additional central defender useful at the club, this said with the likelihood of Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo and possibly Phil Jones being sold either in the summer or in in the resulting transfer windows. A new striker, like Harry Kane, says Sherwood, would be good for the club.
“The back five picks itself, there’s a lot of good players in there.
“I think another centre-back would be useful to them and I think they’ll go out and get that.
“In midfield they have a lot of options… if it’s not Scott McTominay it’s Matic, who has two Premier League winners’ medals to his name.
“He has experience of doing that.
“They have exciting players up front with a lot of pace we just need that stick-on No9 Harry Kane type – I’m not trying to sell him don’t worry Daniel [Levy].
“But I believe that if they get that top player and I think they can because it’s Manchester United then I think they have a real chance.”
Sherwood might have a point by Kane would be costly this summer and there are not many strikers who fit his presence on the pitch, which is something that Solskjaer will be keeping an eye on. I would imagine that Solskjaer has done a lot of work during the lockdown, giving him a head start as the transfer window opens. Perhaps United will surprise everyone and pull something out of the bag this summer, which would be good to see. However, we will want and see what happens.
