Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on
Saturday there is little hope of Manchester United being able to make
significant additions to their under-performing squad in the January
transfer window.
United have been linked with a long list of
potential new recruits as Solskjaer seeks to improve after an
inconsistent start to the season.
Names like England winger Jadon Sancho,
currently with Borussia Dortmund but reportedly keen to return to
English football, Leicester playmaker James Maddison and Salzburg
striker Erling Braut Haaland, one of the most sought after young talents
in Europe, have all been linked with United.
A possible move for Haaland appears
particularly plausible, given that Solskjaer worked with the forward
while at Norwegian side Molde.
But, given the constraints presented by the
mid-season window, Solskjaer insists that talk of a wholesale injection
of fresh blood in January is fanciful.
"It is not about 'x' amount of money, it is about
who do we think will be good for the club in the long-term, not just
three or four months," he said.
"Not many clubs want to sell players that they would otherwise want to keep in January.
"Maybe one or two could be a loan deal but
that is not a big money thing, it is just to help the team. But we are
getting players back and we are looking at what can be available for
us."
No firm return date for Pogba
Getting players back to fitness has
been one of many challenges faced by the United manager over the opening
weeks of the campaign, with French World Cup winner Paul Pogba the most
notable absentee.
There is still no firm date for Pogba to
return form a persistent ankle problem, with the most optimistic
estimates appearing to put his possible comeback in mid-December.
But United's difficulties in the centre of
midfield have been exacerbated by the loss of Scott McTominay, who
injured his ankle before the international break, and veteran Nemanja
Matic who has only just returned to training after nearly seven weeks
out.
The problems do not appear likely to be solved
in time for the start of next month which kicks off with United
welcoming Tottenham, and their recently-appointed former United manager
Jose Mourinho, to Old Trafford before visiting City in the season's
first Manchester derby.
However, Solskjaer has pointed to the recent
improvements shown by Brazilian midfielder Fred, a disappointment last
season after a £52 million ($66.74 million) move from Shakhtar Donetsk,
with his manager finally believing that the 26-year-old is living up to
his potential.
"First of all, the price tag, that is none of
Fred's concern, and it shouldn't be because that is just how football
has gone," said the United manager.
"The prices nowadays, you think, 'Hmm' but the
market today is different to what it was. That shouldn't be on Fred,
that should be on us.
"Fred came in, he did well to start with. Then he
hit a difficult period. Then when I came in, he found it hard, then he
had a very good period. And now he is having a very good period again.
He is showing what we saw in him.
"He is more confident, he believes in himself.
He has come to a new country, the biggest club in the world, he is
learning the language. He is speaking good English now, I don't have to
speak very slowly to him when we talk to him now."
No comments:
Post a Comment