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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer led his Manchester United team to an important point away from home against Liverpool last weekend, with some suggesting that they could have, and possibly should have, gone on to win the game.
The Red Devils have come far in the past year, aligned with the mercurial signing of Bruno Fernandes in early 2020, Solskjaer has helped Manchester United rebuild step by step. It has not been an easy process, with calls for his job being mentioned every so often – especially after a poor start in the ongoing campaign.
However, the Norwegian manager has found unity amongst his players and put a run together that enables the club to be at the top of the Premier League for the first time in several years. It is the first time since 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson’s last title win, that Manchester United are genuine contenders for the Premier League.
And yet, there are still improvements to be made. Liverpool and Manchester City have a resilience that has been built over many years. They can see out games and win important matches when under immense pressure. Their strive for perfection continue but it has come far since Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola took over the respective clubs.
While Manchester United have improved in these areas, they are not the finished product – not by any stretch of the imagination. On the pitch, the Red Devils still need to reinforce the midfield, defence and right-wing. The latter being a position which has been vacant for half a decade.
Amad Diallo, signed from Atalanta BC for around £19 million, is a young talent who has been tipped for great things. But having played only 35 minutes of senior football this season, and a grand total of 59 minutes all together, there has to be some precaution over the impact the 18-year-old can make straight away.
Manchester United still need Jadon Sancho
Manchester United still have Jadon Sancho on the top of their wish-list. After the summer antics of a continually back and forth negotiating stance, Dortmund kept hold of their prized asset, in the hope he would repeat his fantastic goal contributions.
However, so far, Sancho has taken his time to get up to speed, and the summer’s pursuit by Manchester United has clearly left him thinking of what could have been – distracting the Englishman from his time in Germany.
By the time the summer transfer window comes around, Jadon Sancho will have just three years left on his deal, which is an opportune and cost-efficient moment to sell, should Dortmund want this. The German club are known to build young players up and sell them for enormous profit – which is exactly what they are going to do with Sancho.
A fee of £100 million plus £20 million add-ons was quoted to Manchester United last summer, but with one year less on his contract, it is likely to have reduced a fair proportion, which will enable the Red Devils to get the deal done.
Solskjaer has made it clear to the board that Jadon Sancho is his number one target and does not want to seriously consider anyone else for the role. The Englishman would slot straight in alongside Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani or Anthony Martial. Of course, Sancho knows and is familiar with the other England internationals at Old Trafford in Harry Maguire, Dean Henderson and Luke Shaw.
Time will tell if Manchester United can go all the way and lift the Premier League title this season, but one thing is for certain - the Red Devils will be in the market once again to try and sign sign Sancho.
