Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has informed his Old Trafford superiors he may require an additional two faces in January. The Norwegian spent the thick end of £150million during the summer bolstering key deficiencies in his misfiring squad.
Harry Maguire became the most-expensive defender in the world when the Red Devils agreed to pay £80m to Leicester City to acquire his services.
And a further £70m was invested in youth with right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka arriving from Crystal Palace and winger Daniel James from Championship side Swansea.
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The early signs have been promising as Maguire has looked a rock in the backline, while Wan-Bissaka has also been strong on the right side of the defence which has conceded just one goal – an unstoppable Ruben Neves stunner in Monday night’s 1-1 draw at Wolves- in their opening two games.
Wales international, James, has already opened his account for United in the opening 4-0 win against Chelsea and looks like being a lively addition to Solskjaer’s attacking options.
However, it’s understood Solskjaer was forced to wait on recruiting another forward, with Juventus veteran Mario Mandzukic still an option.
A creative midfielder is also on the shopping list but the delays in selling striker Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan had the Manchester giants concerned about adding to their already high annual wage bill – the largest in the Premier League at more than £250m.
United eventually received £75m for Lukaku – removing £275,000-per-week from the wage bill – and Solskjaer has already been told he can have access to that if he needs it when the window reopens in January.
There are still question marks whether Paul Pogba and Alexis Sanchez will be at the Theatre of Dreams before the European window closes on September 2 – currently earning a combined £800,000-per-week between them.
The message coming out of United is clear, though, more cash is quickly being made available for Solskjaer to have the type of squad quality he craves.
The news will be music to the ears of former United right-back Gary Neville who earlier this week admitted United still have plenty of work to do to challenge for the title, adding that they are “a long way off where I think where Liverpool and [Manchester] City are”.
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