Solskjaer to be backed by Man Utd in summer transfer window

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 4 min read

Man Utd chief executive Ed Woodward has once again backed under fire manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and insisted the Norwegian will be given funds to strengthen the squad in the summer transfer window.

The Red Devils continue to struggle under Solskjaer, as although they finished the 2019/20 campaign strongly to qualify for the Champions League, they have been inconsistent in 2020/21.

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They are currently down in ninth in the Premier League, having won just five of their opening nine games, though they do have games in hand over the teams above. Their losses include West Brom on the opening day, a 1-0 defeat at home by struggling Arsenal, and, most notably, a 6-1 destruction by Tottenham at Old Trafford.

The inconsistency has reached the Champions League, too, as although they impressively defeated PSG in Paris and destroyed RB Leipzig at home, they lost against Basaksehir in Turkey, while PSG got their revenge by winning at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Woodward has continually supported Solskjaer, and has so again, this time with the promise of a transfer kitty for the summer.

“I told this forum back in April that we remained committed to strengthening the squad, while being disciplined in our spending during the pandemic,” he told an online Man Utd fans forum this week.

“I believe we’ve delivered on that, with the additions we made during the summer taking our total net spending to over €200m since summer 2019 – more than any other major European club over that period.

“We will continue to support Ole with a planned, long-term approach to recruitment, focused on the summer windows.”

Major Solskjaer signings for Man Utd first team

Woodward does recognise the need for more consistent performances, however.

“What happens on the field is clearly our top priority, and while it’s not the same without fans in the stadium, we’ve seen lots of highs since our last meeting in April, with that 14-game unbeaten run to finish third in last season’s Premier League run and great wins against PSG and RB Leipzig on our return to the Champions League this season,” the Man Utd director explained.

“Of course, we recognise there’s more hard work ahead to achieve the consistency needed to win trophies. But we see positive signs on the pitch and the training ground that reinforce our belief in the progress being made by Ole, his coaching team and the players.”

Throughout the summer, Solskjaer made known his desire to sign Jadon Sancho from Dortmund, only for the two teams to fail to come to an agreement on a transfer fee.

After initially signing Donny van de Beek in the summer, Solskjaer had to wait until the final day of the transfer window to sign Edinson Cavani on a free and Alex Telles from Porto.

They also signed 18-year-old Amad Diallo, who impressed in his Champions League debut for Atalanta this week.

He’ll join in January.