Solskjaer may have promised a revolution.. but just 12 days before pre-season training, United’s lack of signings has them heading for their worst window since 2013

WITH their squad back for pre-season training a week on Monday, the disquiet from Manchester United fans is understandable.

Before signing off for the summer, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he wanted all new signings on board and ready to start training when the squad returns on July 1.

Yet, with just 12 days to go until United’s players report for duty at the AON training complex, the only arrival so far is £15million winger Daniel James (right) from Swansea.

Bids have been made – and rejected – and targets talked up, but United fans, who have become wearily accustomed to the club’s inertia in the transfer market, are suffering deja vu.

Contrast that with Real Madrid, whose response to finishing third in La Liga last season was to spend close to £300m on new signings in the past few weeks, including Chelsea forward Eden Hazard.

Last summer, after finishing second in the Premier League – their highest position since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 – significant investment in key areas was expected.

Instead, United had arguably their worst transfer window since 2013. Last term Fred arrived from Shakhtar Donetsk for £52m, Diogo Dalot from Porto for £19m and Lee Grant, a third-choice keeper who has yet to start a game for United, from Stoke for £1.5m.

For a club with designs on mounting a title challenge, it was a window of spectacular incompetence and United duly paid the price, sacking then-boss Jose Mourinho midway through the season and finishing sixth, after Solskjaer’s honeymoon period to an abrupt halt. One year on, those lessons do not appear to have been learned, with little sign of the arrivals needed to haul United out of their current malaise and back where they belong.

Crystal Palace have rejected two bids for right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with United offering £35m plus £15m in add-ons, when a straight £50m offer would more than likely have been accepted.

There has been little movement on other known targets, including West Ham’s Declan Rice and Issa Diop, Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff, Leicester’s Harry Maguire and Ajax’s Matthijs de Ligt, despite all being on Solskjaer’s wanted list.

United are also fighting to keep £89m midfielder Paul Pogba, who has declared his desire to leave this summer.

Despite publicly insisting Pogba is not for sale, there is an acceptance within United that keeping a disenchanted player is of little value, which is why they have set a fee of £150m for potential buyers.

And, with Romelu Lukaku also wanting out, and No.1 goalkeeper David De Gea out of contract next summer and yet to sign a contract extension, the disillusionment of United fans is justified.

Towards the end of last season, when United took just eight points from 27 to miss out on the top four, Solskjaer (right) warned the club could slip further if they did not address their shortcomings.

Rather than bridging the gap to Manchester City, Liverpool and Spurs, the Reds boss feared being caught by the teams just behind them – Wolves, Everton, Leicester, West Ham and Watford.

United’s failure to move swiftly in the transfer market has served to reinforce Solskjaer’s fears.

Of course, executive vicecame chairman

E d

Woodward

(top left) could change the mood if he can deliver some highprofile signings within the next fortnight and give downcast

United fans fresh hope ahead of the new season.

But Woodward has presided over more misses than hits in the six years since he took charge of recruitment.

And United’s recent history in the transfer market suggests that the collective pessimism of United fans is well-founded this summer.