Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has given an update on potential transfers at Manchester United and he’s also used a very bizarre analogy about a house roof to sum up their current struggles following their defeat at home to Burnley.
You be you, Ole.
Ahead of their FA Cup fourth round trip to Tranmere Rovers on Sunday (upset alert!), Solskjaer was asked about potential arrivals and current injuries during the January transfer window.
“It is stretched but we’re getting players back after the break as well. We will be better off for the break. We’re still working on one or two things so let’s see if the club get it over the line,” Solskjaer said.
With a deal for Bruno Fernandes seemingly off as United are $14 million short of Sporting Lisbon’s asking price, they’ve been linked with moves for the likes of Jude Bellingham, Edinson Cavani and Carlos Tevez who are at the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of their experience.
United’s manager seems to be keen to stay on track with the process and isn’t feeling the pressure of being six points off the top four.
“For me we do have a way of doing things,” Solskjaer said about United’s plan to sign young players and stay patient. “Of course you can see other teams have done well. You can see Jurgen [Klopp] has spent four years building his team and they’re doing well now, so of course I’ve said it so many times, it’s not going to be a quick fix. It’s not going to be eight players in, or 10 players in, in one transfer window. We’ve had one transfer window, a proper one, in the summer, because Januarys are difficult, but we are still trying to do something now.”
Solskjaer then came out with this gem when asked about the pressure building after United’s recent defeats and try to fight off negative vibes from fans and pundits.
“I think our fans know what we have started on. I’ve been trusted to do that job and that rebuild doesn’t go one way all the time. We’re doing great, I’ve said it so many times,” Solskjaer said. “The foundation has to be laid and the culture properly set and laid down and this group is a good core of players that believe in what we’re doing to carry us forward, with signings and players coming back. You need to knock the house down, you don’t just start with the roof. We’ve had some rainy days and wish that roof was on but we can’t hide.”
Time for Ole to get his hard hat on and start hammering the roof shut on what is a very expensive but dilapidated house.
To continue with this analogy, United have laid some of the foundations with the signings of Maguire, Wan-Bissaka and James while promoting the likes of Williams and Greenwood too, but they seem to have hit a snag when completing the foundations.
Instead of finding an ancient burial ground under their house which takes time to excavate properly they have been hit by a lack of balance and cover in certain positions (center forward and central midfield). That will take time to rectify and Solskjaer knows this is a slow build, something executive vice chairman Ed Woodward keeps saying after they’ve thrown so much money at expensive signings under several different managers.
How long will United’s fans and everyone connected with the club wait until this house is firmly built and is looking shiny and stable? That is the $600 million (and probably more) question as their long and muddled squad rebuild continues, hitting plenty of delays and repairs along the way.
