Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has stated that the club will be an attractive proposition to prospective new signings this summer, with or without Champions League football, because of the progress that has been made in recent months.
United will finish in the Premier League top four and qualify for the Champions League for only the third time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired if they get at least a point at home against West Ham on Wednesday night and avoid defeat to Leicester on the final day of the season on Sunday.
Alternatively, victory against Leicester alone would also be sufficient for fourth place, regardless of what happens against the Hammers in the penultimate fixture.
But Solskjaer insists that United are already ‘attractive enough’ for new players.
“You always want to be part of the best tournaments and playing the best teams. That is an attraction in itself, but Man Utd is attractive enough,” the he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
“Everyone can see we are on a journey to something better. It is in our own hands. I don’t want to talk about how much it will mean financially or to attract people. We have to focus on the next two games and make sure we are there,” he added.
At one point earlier in the campaign, United were on course to record their worst season since 1989/90, while Solskjaer was statistically the club’s worst manager in 40 years. But there has been a significant transformation since the end of January, with the project starting to come together.
United are still far from the finished product when directly compared to new Premier League champions and fierce north west rivals Liverpool, but the progress has been vast.
“We have grown over the whole season. The additions of Odion Ighalo and Bruno Fernandes, and Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford coming back, is a strength for us. We are better as a group, more robust and resilient, but the proof is in the pudding,” Solskjaer said.
United are primarily targeting Jadon Sancho in the transfer market this summer and there is a logic and substance to Solskjaer’s claims about attracting players.
90min revealed in February that Sancho had been made to feel so wanted by United that even the possibility of missing out on Champions League football next season would not impact his decision and he is ‘excited’ about the prospect of making the move.
That viewpoint was later supported by what Raphael Honigstein of The Athletic reported in April, explaining that Sancho is attracted to the prospect of a starring role in a developing team.
“I think United, certainly want a player of his appeal and prospect to build a new squad around. He’s English and that’s part of their thinking,” Honigstein said.
“Manchester United can’t promise titles to Sancho straight away. But they can promise him to be the leading star in a new team that is emerging. From what I’ve been told that is quite appealing to him.”
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Source : 90min