United’s Solskjaer not finding much to buy with his £200 million war chest. - (2025)

Updated: 21/01/2025

[fcrp_feat_sc sc_id=”18242″]Manchester United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has sanctioned a whopping amount of £200m for coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to splurge on this summer. This follows a below-par 2018-19 season when the Red Devils finished 6th on the Premier League table and missed out on the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League (UCL). (Only the Top 4 teams of the League get to qualify in Europe's premier club tournament). One of the major developments that could take place at Old Trafford could be the exit of mid-fielder Paul Pogba in whom clubs like Real Madrid and Juventus are evincing a lot of interest. It's been learnt that the Red Devils have been especially wanting to home in on young English players. To that effect, Solskjaer is eyeing Leicester City's attacking mid-fielder James Maddison as a potential replacement for Pogba. Valued at £60m, Maddison has been sought after by Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham, too, but the Foxes are determined not to part with the 22-year old England midfielder unless they receive a “ridiculously high offer”. Jadon Sancho, the 19-year old English international, is another big money target for United. Borussia Dortmund, for whom Sancho currently plays, have made it amply clear that they won't release the youngster at any price although it would be hard to imagine that they would turn down an offer in the vicinity of £100m.

That the hunt for good players is not an easy exercise is borne out by the conflicting versions of Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt's impending move out of Netherlands. Sought desperately by United, the in-demand de Ligt is now being wooed by Liverpool, Juventus, Manchester City and Barcelona, too. United have been reportedly trying to shore up a staggering amount for the Ajax “boy-wonder” but the youngster has been warned that he would be “sacrificing development and ambition for money” if he were to make a move to Old Trafford.

Old Trafford could strike gold when it comes to Bruno Fernandes, a Portuguese international and Sporting Lisbon forward. Fernandes emerged top scorer in the Portuguese Premeira Liga getting 32 goals from his 53 appearances for the Lisbon club this season. United's £70 million bid for the forward became easier with Manchester City dropping out of the race. Another player Manchester United may want to snap up is Tottenham Hotspurs forward Christian Eriksen who has made known of his intentions to move to greener pastures. Following the Dane's statements, many a Manchester United fan have been prompted into suggesting that Solskjaer should move to sign the Spurs player. Eriksen is a proven material on the Danish international stage, and in Premier League and European levels, too. The Spurs star, who ended up on the losing side in the recently concluded Champions League finalss, may have looked a bit jaded of late, but is still capable of electrifying performances.

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