Manchester United News: Solskjaer says the club made the right decision in letting Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez leave

Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku
Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku

What's the story?

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer maintains that the club made the right decision by letting Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez move to Inter Milan over the summer, despite the Red Devils' struggles in the final third this season.

In case you didn't know...

Lukaku, who tallied 42 goals in 96 games for the Red Devils, moved to Inter for a club-record fee of £74 million in a deal that will keep him at the San Siro for five years.

Meanwhile, Sanchez completed a loan move to the Nerazzurri that will see him playing for the Italian giants until the end of the current season.

Solskjaer has been on the receiving end of heavy criticism after the departure of the attacking duo primarily due to his decision to sign no replacements to fill the apertures left by the forwards.

The Norwegian manager's future at Old Trafford is now uncertain after his side suffered their worst start to the English top division in decades. Rumours have been rife that Massimiliano Allegri is in line to replace him if he gets sacked by the board before the end of the campaign.

The heart of the matter

Solskjaer has no regrets surrounding his decision to let Lukaku and Sanchez leave United despite the fact that the squad has been lacking attacking prowess this term.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said,

"In one-off games, you think we could've had a number of extra players with experience. Alexis and Rom are goalscorers and good players, but at the moment, we made those decisions and they were the right decisions.
"That's the only way you've got to look at it. All the players here want to give everything for the club and for the shirt - that's a big thing.
"Every day that they come in training, and every day that they put the shirt on, they're going to give everything that they have. So you can't really say, 'oh I wish I didn't do that'."

He added,

"Giving a couple of the lads the chance to show themselves, maybe it was a little bit too early for a few of them. But Mason Greenwood has stepped in and scored a couple in the midweek games, so it's a great experience for them.
"We know we haven't had the results that we wanted, but I wouldn't have kept the players we sold. It was the right decision."

What's next?

Sunday will see Manchester United host Liverpool at Old Trafford in their first Premier League game after the international break.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar