OLE: MY BIG SAN BITION Sancho and United fit perfectly
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has sent a clear message to Jadon Sancho – Manchester United is the club for you.
The United boss has been on Sancho’s trail all season and is hoping to sign the £100million-rated Borussia Dortmund and England winger, 20.
Sancho fits United’s transfer strategy profile perfectly as a young, ambitious Englishman with the potential to be one of world football’s great players.
And Solskjaer barely disguised his intentions when he agreed that United is the top destination for any young player like Sancho who is looking to improve on the big stage.
He said: “I’m not in a job to get excited. I’m here to improve the team and try to mould the team in a way we as coaching staff and a management team believe that the club should be playing.
“Results and performances are coming and I think Man United is attractive for any young player out there with ambition.
“We’ve always given young players a chance, that’s in our DNA and it will always follow us.
“I don’t know how many games we’ve had now with academy players in the team, I know it’s more than 4,000.
“We’ll still keep on improving our academy and put players through that system.”
That’s a clear signal Solskjaer believes Old Trafford is the perfect destination for Sancho, even though his side have yet to nail down a Champions League place for next season.
United, who play at home to Southampton tomorrow, have gone 10 games unbeaten in the Premier League.
And they haven’t lost in 17 matches in all competitions, stretching back to January when they were surprisingly beaten by Burnley at Old Trafford. United’s current goalscoring form is spectacular – and Solskjaer (left) admits having the courage to take risks when attacking is a trait he leaned from Sir Alex Ferguson.
“You have responsibility when you are at Man United to play a certain way,” he said.
“You’ve got to attack quickly and you’ve got to have some youth players.
“You have got to have courage and risk things, so sometimes we do leave ourselves open at the back but that’s also an instinct I learnt from my time here at the club with Sir Alex.”
Solskjaer revealed former boss Ferguson, now 78 and shielding at home as the lockdown eases, is loving United’s current revival even though he can’t yet watch his beloved team live.
“He’s watching the games, he’s watching everything,” he said.
“There have been a couple of texts of course, but we’ve not managed to meet up, so just by text.” a
SANCH-GO? Dortmund man Jadon is in demand
Tomorrow, 8pm, Sky Sports & Sky One