How Man Utd have given Solskjaer path to success with MASSIVE net spend
Robin Bairner
- 24 Jul 2021 12:26 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United announced on Saturday that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has signed a new three-year deal with the club.
Solskjaer has yet to win any silverware with Man Utd since taking over from Jose Mourinho in December of 2018, though he has guided the Old Trafford side to two of their best three finishes in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
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Nevertheless, he has been given the ammunition by the board: Man Utd have complied a net spend greater than any European club over the last three years.
Indeed, following the signing of Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund, Man Utd have spent €300 million more in the transfer market than they have received over that period.
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This compares to Manchester City’s net spend of €160m, Chelsea’s of €41m and Liverpool’s of €40m.
In Europe, meanwhile, PSG have spent €115m, Bayern Munich €167m, Juventus €72m, Barcelona sit at €104m and Real Madrid at €116m. Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, have made €28m.
This means that Man Utd have invested nearly twice as much in the transfer market as any of Europe’s major clubs.
Solskjaer's five biggest signings
| Fee (€m) | Fee (£m) | |
|---|---|---|
| Harry Maguire | 88 | 80 |
| Jadon Sancho | 85 | 72 |
| Bruno Fernandes | 65 | 56.7 |
| Aaron Wan-Bissaka | 55 | 50 |
| Donny van de Beek | 39 | 35.1 |
Man Utd: Spending big but spending well
If United have spent lavishly, though, they have typically spent well, while their net spend has been generated by a handful of big-money additions who have become first-team regulars. Meanwhile, they have not lost any key assets over this period.
The summer of 2019 was the first with Solskjaer as manager and saw the arrival of Harry Maguire from Leicester for a world-record €88m (£80m) for a defender. Aaron Wan-Bissaka was also acquired from Crystal Palace, with the pair mainstays of the rearguard. Meanwhile, the addition of Bruno Fernandes in January for €63m was a masterstroke.
A year on, there were fewer big moves. Indeed, only Donny van de Beek’s arrival from Ajax was really designed to transform Solskjaer’s starting XI. The Netherlands international, though, has proven thus far to be a big-money flop.
Meanwhile, Sancho’s arrival for €85m from Dortmund on Friday represents the second largest deal of the Solskjaer era. The 22-year-old England international’s signing has been widely acclaimed as one that could
