Ole Gunnar Solskjaer welcomed a number of acquisitions to Manchester United with Donny van de Beek, Alex Telles, Facundo Pellistri and Edinson Cavani in the transfer period concluded earlier this week. However, the manager will look back on the past transfer summer with little satisfaction, as he got none of his two top targets and instead had to accept players who were not initially on his list.

ESPN writes this weekend, based on sources close to the club, that even Van de Beek was not a ‘primary target’ for Solskjaer. The midfielder, taken over from Ajax, is the most expensive purchase of the past transfer period with his transfer fee of around forty million euros. According to reports, however, Solksjaer initially had in mind the arrival of Erling Braut Haaland and Jadon Sancho, both of whom were ultimately not feasible.

The Norwegian thought he had already convinced his fellow countryman Haaland to come to Old Trafford at the beginning of this year. Vice-chairman Ed Woodward, who handles the transfer affairs at Manchester United, however, put an end to his arrival for 20 million because of the demanded commission for the manager of Haaland and the wish of the young striker’s camp to include a transfer clause in his contract. let take. Borussia Dortmund eventually agreed to this and eventually took over Haaland from Red Bull Salzburg.

Sancho was Solskjaer’s second big target in recent months. Those Boruses however, kept their foot stiff and demanded no less than 120 million for the dribbler. Manchester United, however, refused to comply and sees its chances of recruiting the attacker significantly diminishing next year. While there was no competition for Sancho this year, clubs like Liverpool and Bayern Munich are expected to join the fray next year.

Solskjaer thus seized his frustration alongside two young players who could become figureheads of Manchester United in the coming years. Instead, he now has 33-year-old Edinson Cavani and 18-year-old Facundo Pellistri at his disposal for his attack. The Red Devils also took over eighteen-year-old Amad Diallo Traoré from Atalanta for an amount that could run up to forty million, but he will not join his new employer until January.