Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has opened up on the players that he wanted to sign but was unable to during his time as Manchester United manager.
The former Red Devils striker returned to the club initially as a caretaker following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho in December 2018.
However, after turning United’s season around and earning a memorable comeback win against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League, Solskjaer was handed the job on a full-time basis.
Solskjaer recorded back-to-back top-four finishes during his two full seasons in charge – including coming second in 2020/21 – before being sacked early on in the November 2021 after a disappointing start.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic, Solskjaer was asked whether the United job was ‘impossible’.
“No, but it’s difficult, especially for managers following one of the best managers ever,” he replied.
“The expectations are very high but we can’t live in the same era as when I played. We had Arsenal and Chelsea as rivals towards the end. Now, most teams have money or even if they don’t, they don’t need to sell.
“Back then, Wayne [Rooney] and Cristiano [Ronaldo] were the best young players and we signed them. Now, United can’t just go and buy Evan Ferguson. We couldn’t buy the players I mentioned to the club.”
When asked who these players were, Solskjaer said: “Erling Haaland, before he made his Salzburg debut. Declan Rice, who wouldn’t have cost what he did in the summer. We discussed Moises Caicedo, but we felt we needed players ready for there and then. Brighton are very good at letting players come from abroad and find their feet for a year and a half. At United, you don’t have that luxury and that has cost the club loads of players.
“We wanted Jude Bellingham badly – he’s a Man Utd player, but I respect he chose Dortmund. That was probably sensible. But it’s why I respect Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Dan James and Jadon [Sancho]. Young players prepared to come into a team that wasn’t 100 per cent there like it was when I arrived.
“I would have signed [Harry] Kane every day of the week and my understanding was that he wanted to come. But the club didn’t have the budget with the financial constraints from Covid-19, there was no bottomless pit.”
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