Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Opens Up on Man Utd's Plans for January Transfer Window

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that he has "the backing from the board" to sign a striker in the January transfer window, after missing out on the signature of new Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland. 

United attempted to lure the in-demand forward to Old Trafford, but the 19-year-old's wage demands proved too excessive, and he opted for a move to Dortmund from RB Salzburg instead.

Injuries have occasionally left the Red Devils short of attacking firepower over the course of this season, and Solskjaer confirmed that he is in the market for another striker in January, which will provide 'competition for places', as reported by ​the Daily Mail. 

"I'm a striker by nature and I've always been an optimist," he said ahead of United's trip to Arsenal on Wednesday.

"I'm optimistic we can keep players fit and if the right ones become available we do have the resources and I do have the backing from the board.

"One addition, and if you get two additions, of course that will be competition for places."

The former striker was cautious over ​Man Utd's potential transfer business however, stressing the club's focus is on 'long-term' investments: "It's also about getting the right ones. It has to be. 

"There's no point suddenly bringing someone else in now for the sake of three or four months if that can disrupt any good feeling or chemistry in the group, because the chemistry in the group is really good.

"It has to be the right type and it has to be a good investment for the long-term as well."

Solskjaer was also keen to underline his faith in his current attacking options, adding that he 'always believed' in ​Anthony Martial and ​Marcus Rashford's goalscoring capabilities - and the coach backed the decision to sell striker ​Romelu Lukaku to Inter in the summer. 

"We always believed Anthony and Marcus were going to score goals but Mason (Greenwood) has filled a big void, he's chipped in with goals," Solskjaer admitted.

"So I'm not worried about goals from centre-forwards. Mason's on eight now. Marcus is on 15 and Anthony has quite a few (10).

"Romelu is a good striker and he'll always score goals but it was time for him to move on. We didn't find the right one outside our club (in the summer) but we had Mason."

Martial and Rashford both scored in Man Utd's recent 2-0 victory over Burnley, which lifted the Red Devils to fifth place in the Premier League table, only four points behind rivals Chelsea.