Ole looking for quality – not quantity
was in contrast to Chelsea, who spent £220m on seven new players.
But Frank Lampard couldn’t get the best out of some of those recruits OLE Gunnar Solskjaer hasn’t set a and despite an upturn in form target on the number of new arrivals under Thomas Tuchel, they remain he wants to see at United this summer six points behind United. and he will only sign players if With the pandemic meaning an they are the ideal fit for the club. entire season is set to be played out
The Reds made only three additions behind closed doors it could be last summer, in Alex Telles, another conservative transfer window Donny van de Beek and Edinson and rather than targeting a certain Cavani, and none of the three have number of additions this summer, played more than 40 per cent of the Solskjaer is focusing on quality club’s total minutes this season. rather than quantity.
A settled squad hasn’t stopped “We look at the squad every window United climbing to second in the and see what is out there, see Premier League with 13 games to go what we feel we need. There might and their approach last summer be injuries in the squad, there might POSSIBLE UNITED LINE-UP be different reasons for a change,” he said.
“And our transfer plans, of course we have long-term plans and I feel my squad now is more and more full of younger players that can improve.
“I have a strong squad, a deep squad. I can’t say if it’s going to be ‘X’ amount of signings in the summer. We still look at players and it has to be the right one. It is not the amount of transfers.”
The approach to the transfer market isn’t the only area where United and Chelsea have differed in recent seasons. This afternoon’s game will see Solskjaer come up against a third different Chelsea manager already, with
Tuchel following Lampard and Maurizio Sarri.
Solskjaer has had difficult spells of his own during that time but while the Blues dispensed with Lampard at the first sign of trouble, United have stood by their own former player-turnedmanager and they’re beginning to reap the rewards.
“For me, the main thing is we’ve sat down, we have had a very open honest discussion when I came in and I laid down my plans and the club of course make a decision and they agreed with me with some of the changes we had to make,” said Solskjaer.
“And of course I am not going to say it will never happen that we change course but as we said earlier, it is about results and you need results and you need to see improvements and hopefully we have proved to the club and to the fans, us as staff what we want from the team and want from our players.”
Solskjaer has a personal history with Tuchel, at least, having twice beaten his Paris StGermain time at the Parc des Princes and lost twice at Old Trafford.
The win in Paris in October was one of United’s best performances of the season, while the March 2019 Champions League comeback in the French capital was the night Solskjaer’s ascension to the role of permanent
We still look at players and it has to be the right one. It is not the amount of transfers
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
manager was all but confirmed.
“They [Chelsea] have changed a little bit but still the same players. When they came here in a 0-0 draw, they played three at the back like Thomas has done with them,” Solskjaer said of Chelsea under Tuchel.
“We played against Thomas four times against PSG and I can’t remember if he played the same way twice! He might change it. That is fine.
“He is one of these coaches, he loves football, he knows his football and the team is very well prepared for every game and every opposition. For me, we have to prepare for all different scenarios.”