Now that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been confirmed as the permanent Manchester United manager on a three-year deal, the Norwegian will have already started making plans for next season and is sure to have a shortlist of players he will be looking to add in the summer.
Here are three men who could make the switch to Old Trafford to join Solskjaer’s squad as they look to improve on their 2018/19 Premier League campaign.
Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale is more than certain to leave Real Madrid this summer, putting an end to what has been a frustrating last couple of years at the Spanish club for the Welshman. Zinedine Zidane returned to the Bernabeu last month as their manager and in his previous spell in charge of Los Blancos, Bale was a regular fixture on the bench.
⚽ Will he stay or will he go?
— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) April 3, 2019
The Gossip says Gareth Bale wants to remain at the Bernabeu beyond the end of this season
▶ https://t.co/300vwSzhqa pic.twitter.com/xiuLYajKqY
Real Madrid will be very keen to recoup as much of the £85.2 million they paid for Bale when they signed him from Tottenham in 2013, which means there are probably only a handful of clubs in Europe who will be able to splash out on the forward, Manchester United one of them.
Bale has had his injury problems in Spain but at 29 years old, United could still be getting one of the leading attackers in the world at his best for at least three or four years. As a result, Solskjaer is surely going to be tempted to go all out to land the Real Madrid man.
Jadon Sancho
Jadon Sancho made the brave move to leave England as a 17-year-old to join Borussia Dortmund in Germany. That decision has worked out well for the winger as he has shone in the Bundesliga over the last 18 months, leading to the youngster being called up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad where he is likely to be a key player at Euro 2020 in which England are 5-1 second favourite in the international football betting for the major tournament.
Unsurprisingly, there are now a host of major European clubs bracing themselves for a bid for the player this summer. Solskjaer will be keeping a close eye on the impact he has on his side from now until the end of the campaign in Germany where Dortmund are in the hunt for the title along with Bayern Munich.
Kalidou Koulibaly
European Paper Talk: Manchester United prepare bid for Kalidou Koulibalyhttps://t.co/W6vFRZfK69 pic.twitter.com/cS8ucEhrKF
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 17, 2019
The priority for Solskjaer this summer has to be a defender. Kalidou Koulibaly was linked with a move to Manchester United back in January, but a deal was unable to be secured between the club and Napoli. The Senegal international is thought to be very keen to move from Italy once the transfer window opens but that will not happen unless Napoli’s asking price, thought to be in the region of £80 million, is met. United might have to pay a new world record for a defender, beating the £75 million Liverpool spent on Virgil van Dijk.
Koulibaly has been in the Serie A Team of the Year in each of the last three seasons and would certainly be a huge upgrade on what United currently have at the back in their squad.
The summer transfer window will close on 8th August this year after Premier League clubs agreed for it to shut before the season begins, so United will be keen to get their business done nice and early.
