Solskjaer To Prioritise Striker Signing In January
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he will give his injury-ravaged forward line some much-needed first aid by signing a striker in the January transfer window.
The Red Devils host Arsenal in the Premier League on Monday, and going into the game, they are without both Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, who are sidelined through injury.
The absence of the striking duo could pave the way for 17-year-old academy graduate Mason Greenwood to lead the line against the Gunners at Old Trafford.
Manchester United let go of Romelu Lukaku, who was their top scorer for the past two seasons, and Alexis Sanchez to Inter Milan in the summer without replacing them.
The likes of Mario Mandzukic, Inaki Williams, Paulo Dybala and Jadon Sancho were all linked with moves to Old Trafford in the summer but the only attacking reinforcement the club made was the £15m signing of Daniel James from championship side Swansea City.
‘We let Alexis and Romelu go, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that it’s a forward that next time we’re going to recruit – we’re looking for some creativity and goals,’ said Solskjaer.
‘There were strikers but they weren’t the ones we wanted. If we had the right one, we would have.
‘It was time for Romelu to go. He knows that. He didn’t want to be here. What is the point in having players that don’t want to be here?
‘And it’s no point getting players in that you’re not 100 per cent sure about.
‘When you get players in you need the right ones that are going to stay here for a longer period and that’s the long-term thinking we have to show.
‘I cannot think: ‘I need a player because this is my reputation.’ No, it’s the club.’
Manchester United are 11th on the Premier League table with eight points from six games.
