The outspoken former Manchester United captain, Gary Neville has underlined what the majority of club fans are thinking. Why is it hard for Manchester United to sign players?
Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has pointed out three areas of weakness; left-back, wide right-sided player and central defense.
However, despite being linked with potential players, the club is yet to add to their solitary close-season purchase of the Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek from Ajax.
Borussia Dortmund resisted United’s advances for their number one transfer target Jadon Sancho. The German club had indicated their willingness to do business earlier in the summer. However, they placed a 10th August deadline on a deal being done to coincide with their return to pre-season training.
While there have been interests in Barcelona’s forward, Ousmane Dembele, there is no suggestion on a loan deal for the France international is close.
Porto’s Brazilian full-back Alex worth £18m is another close target. But, just like Sancho, the club feels the price is too high because the player will be out of contract next summer and the transfer window has shifted. Meanwhile, the financial side cannot be ignored.
Neville in his forthright style may believe deals are easy to do. But in addition to not signing players, United are experiencing difficulty in realizing their assets.
“It’s appalling that in this market, which is probably the easiest in Premier League history to get transfers done, United haven’t done more yet.” Tweeted Neville.
“The others are managing to get things over the line. Why not United?”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer “the club knows my view”
The Norwegian argued out that the club “knows my view” about transfer activity before the window closes on Monday.
“They know my view. The transfer window is still open for a little while. If something happens in or out you will get to know.”
“There are many ways of improving a team. I keep reading about the players who should be playing instead of the ones who aren’t because they are performing well. That tells me I have a strong squad. There is competition for places”.
“We need results. That is the only way of affecting the mood at the club, the players and staff. All the rest is short-term moods”.