In order to construct a super-team, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer expressed his desire for Manchester United to acquire five players; however, the club was ultimately unsuccessful in accomplishing this goal.
Solskjaer was initially appointed to the position of manager of Manchester United on an interim basis in December 2018, following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho. Subsequently, Solskjaer was given a permanent position.
Additionally, the Norwegian was responsible for United’s advancement to the final of the Europa League in 2021. He finished with a win percentage of 54% and won 91 games out of 168 games played.
Solskaer was responsible for the acquisition of a number of players during his tenure at Manchester United. These players included Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Raphael Varane.
On the other hand, Solskjaer was unable to complete five significant priority transfers, which brought the total number of transfers to five. During an interview with The Athletic in 2023, Solskjaer opened up about his top targets and how he felt they could all have a transformative impact on the team.
The five players Solskjaer wanted at United Compatriot Erling Haaland, who played under him at Molde and went on to sign for rivals Manchester City, was wanted by Solskjaer.
However, he also desired to strengthen the midfield by acquiring Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo, who are currently two of the most expensive central midfielders in the world of football as a result of their respective transfers to Arsenal and Chelsea.
After that, there were two more England stars, namely Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, but once again, attempts to acquire them were unsuccessful.
When asked about players he attempted to sign, Solskjaer gave the following response: “Erling Haaland, before he made his debut for Salzburg.” In the summer, Declan Rice, who would not have cost as much as he did, was acquired. Despite the fact that we talked about Moises Caicedo, we felt that we needed players who were ready for there and then. The Brighton club is very good at allowing players to come from other countries and discover their footing for a period of one and a half years. The fact that you do not have that luxury at United has resulted in a significant loss of players for the club.
We desired Jude Bellingham very much because he is a player for Manchester United, but I respect the fact that he chose Dortmund. Probably, that was a reasonable answer. But this is the reason why I have a lot of respect for Jado Sancho, Dan James, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Young players were getting ready to join a team that wasn’t as strong as it was when I arrived. They were prepared to come together.
On any given day of the week, I would have signed Kane, and I was under the impression that he was interested in the opportunity. However, taking into account the financial constraints imposed by Covid-19, the club did not possess the budget, and there was no bottomless pit.
In the time leading up to his transfer to Bayern Munich, Harry Kane was heavily linked with Manchester United. Image courtesy of Getty In the time leading up to his transfer to Bayern Munich, Harry Kane was heavily linked with Manchester United. Image courtesy of Getty
In the time leading up to his transfer to Bayern Munich, Harry Kane was heavily linked with Manchester United. Image courtesy of Getty
After some time had passed, Solskjaer made an appearance on the Stick to Football podcast, where he discussed three of the enormous deals that he desired to complete successfully.
When asked about Haaland, he stated, “The summer before I got here [joined Manchester United], I rang the club and said, ‘You’ve got to sign this boy – he’ll be top class.'” In the months of June and July of 2018, they responded with a negative response, stating that they had sufficient reports on players. After that, I was promoted to the position of caretaker manager at United, and we agreed to sell Haaland to RB Salzburg. I immediately inform the club that they should purchase him while he is protected by a release clause. That was something that we were aware of at the time, and no one else would have paid the money – twenty million euros would have been a steal.
“Despite the fact that he has connections with Alfie Haaland, Manchester City, and Leeds,” an individual said.
“At that time, the club made the decision to not pursue the opportunity. Up until the point where he began scoring for Salzburg, we never made any bids or made any attempts to acquire him. Everyone was there by that point, including Borussia Dortmund and Juventus, and everyone else was there as well. At that time, his release clause was still in effect, and it was $60 million.
The explanation that he provided was that Bellingham was “in the building” when he was 17 years old and had a tour that featured Eric Cantona, Bryan Robson, and Sir Alex Ferguson, but he desired to have more playing time in the tank.
Rice, on the other hand, has evolved into a football player who is extremely well-rounded, and Solskjaer is of the opinion that his team “would have done well with him in midfield” due to the energy that he brings to the team.
Solskjaer acknowledged that United “could’ve and should’ve gone for him,” despite the fact that he would not have been available at a significant discount.
After being fired from his position at United, the 51-year-old player took a significant amount of time off from the game. However, he is now having a great time at Besiktas, where he has won four of the six games he has played since taking over the position in January.
