Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has reiterated his desire to keep hold of Paul Pogba as he looks to build a future title-challenging team.
Man Utd extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 13 games as they recently dominated Sheffield United in impressive fashion, with Anthony Martial scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win.
The result against the Blades means the Red Devils have drawn and won one of their first two games since the restart, and will be hoping for another win on Saturday as they advance to the FA semi-finals. Looking to sell your place. Cup when they face Norwich.
Speaking ahead of the game, Solskjaer gave an update on his summer transfer plans, giving his thoughts on Pogba’s future and competing for the title.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has spoken of his desire to keep Paul Pogba / Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
The three-month break gave Pogba a chance to overcome his injury struggles and regain fitness. He marked his return to action with an impressive display against Tottenham – despite the fact that he only played 27 minutes – and then started the game against Sheffield United.
He has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford with interest from Juventus, but Solskjaer has maintained his desire to keep hold of the Frenchman.
“Yes we want to keep Paul here – we want to keep the best players here anyway.” He said by telegraph. “He wants to be the best he can be. He knows he’s a special talent and he doesn’t want, in five or 10 years’ time, to look back and think: ‘I didn’t make the most of it.’
“He’s already a World Cup winner. He’s won things with Juventus and with us so I’m not surprised by his enthusiasm and dedication to us.
“It hurts every time you see someone else lift the trophy. I think it’s the feeling. [for] Everyone associated with Manchester United – players, staff, supporters. We want to get back to winning ways. This is our challenge.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is unsure how much money he will have this summer/Pool/Getty Images
Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has already said it may not be ‘business as usual’ this summer, before explaining once again that ‘reality shows’ should not be ignored.
Solskjaer has now admitted he is unsure how much the club is prepared to spend in the transfer market as they continue to try to deal with the financial implications of COVID-19.
“I think the pandemic has hit everyone really hard,” Solskjaer was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
“I still think we need to wait and see how things pan out to know the true impact of the pandemic, to know what kind of financial situation we’re in. You We see some teams invest, some teams don’t. We have to take a look at things ourselves to see how much we have lost. I know the club has announced some numbers before.
“It’s not for me to say now we’ll have X amount of money because I don’t really know. I don’t really know how much we’ve lost. We’re a strong club financially, but we might as well do it. Hit more than anyone else.
“Let’s see how quickly we can get our fans back into the stadium and of course the league position will be important for us this season. If we can get the trophy, the FA Cup or the Europa League.
“The Europa League will also qualify us for the Champions League, there is still a lot of uncertainty and these three or four months, every businessman in the world, every footballer in the world, I think everyone is still not sure that What will be the effect?”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants more consistency from his squad / Pool / Getty Images
United have shown they can compete with most teams when they are at their best. Now 13 games unbeaten, things are looking more positive for Solskjaer, and the boss has revealed he sees the current group developing into a title-challenging side.
“I think we have done our best to compete against the best teams,” he said. “It’s definitely a challenge for me and the players to get that consistency now. We can’t afford the bad run we had in the first season.
“Of course anyone can get injured and be out for a while. We’re still one of the youngest teams in the league and we need to learn from the games we’ve drawn or lost this season. How to live
“But yes I see a team building and a team developing the way we see Man Utd and hopefully that can mean we go up the table and yes we will definitely challenge. “