Solskjaer delivers transfer update amid Manchester United pursuit of Sancho – ‘Not everyone can spend millions and millions’
Solskjaer delivers transfer update amid Manchester United pursuit of Sancho – ‘Not everyone can spend millions and millions’
he Norwegian says he is “happy” with his current squad but is always on the lookout for players that fit “all the right criteria”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has delivered a transfer update amid Manchester United’s pursuit of Jadon Sancho, insisting that “not everyone can spend millions and millions”.
United have been relatively quiet in the transfer market this summer, having only spent £35 million ($46m) to date on Netherlands midfielder Donny van de Beek, who moved to Old Trafford from Ajax at the start of the month.
They have, however, been linked with several other high-profile targets, with Borussia Dortmund winger Sancho a priority for Solskjaer ahead of the new season.
The Red Devils have been chasing the England international for several months, and Goal has reported that they are making gradual progress in their negotiations with his agent.
However, Dortmund are reportedly holding out for a fee of €120m (£108m/$142m), which the Red Devils are reluctant to pay up front in the current financial climate.
Solskjaer has pointed to the negative effect the coronavirus crisis has had on the market when discussing the lack of transfer activity, while making it clear that the club will not pay over the odds for any player.
“I am very happy working with these players and the squad,” the Norweigian boss told BBC Five Live. “We are always trying to improve and to see if there’s any way possible that we can improve this squad and bring players in that will have the right level of quality and the right personality and have all the right criteria.
“We all know this summer and this year has been a very strange one and it’s important that everyone understands that this has an effect on football. Not everyone can spend millions and millions.”
Asked how many players he would like to add to his squad in total this summer, Solskjaer responded: “I never set myself a target, like scoring 20 goals as a player. You just have to go day by day, making sure you develop and improve.
“We have a vision of where we want to get to but know so many things can come in the way. I believe in seeing how the team and club develops.
“We are developing team, a year or so into our rebuild. We had to make some decisions last summer and throughout the season we have seen how this team is getting better and getting used to each other.”
The United head coach added on the ongoing preparations for the 2020-21 campaign and the dangers of panic buying in the transfer window: “We are looking forward to it but it has come around so quickly from last season. The preparation is very different to what we normally have and we have to take our Europa League games as pre-season.
“I’d rather be an optimist and be wrong than be a pessimist and be right. I did think we would qualify for the Champions League but I was hoping for a trophy along the way as well.
“It is never easy to have too many new players in the team, it takes time for players to gel into a unit. We have seen some clubs go for the quick fix and some have trust in the process. We have to improve and get results but adding players with different qualities than we have.”