Man Utd boss targeting moves to sign £176m duo despite transfer disappointments

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is still targeting moves to sign Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho despite missing out on the duo in the past two transfer windows, according to ESPN.

United spent much of the summer chasing Sancho after identifying the England international as their number one target as Solskjaer looked to add an established right winger to his squad.

However, despite lengthy negotiations, Man Utd failed to get a deal agreed with Borussia Dortmund after the Bundesliga giants refused to budge on their £108m [source: ESPN] valuation – which United felt was excessive in today’s climate.

Manchester United ended up signing four players on deadline day with striker Edinson Cavani arriving on a free transfer, left-back Alex Telles was signed from Porto while they also sealed deals for young attackers Amad Diallo and Facundo Pellistri.

Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek was also snapped-up from Ajax in August meaning United brought-in five players in the summer window but ESPN claims Solskjaer was still left disappointed as none were among his primary targets.

The report says Solskjaer is frustrated at what he believes was a missed opportunity to sign Sancho while no other top European club was in the running for his signature – something that is expected to change next summer.

It’s not the first time United have failed to land their key targets as ESPN claims Solskajer is still disappointed at missing out on Haaland to Dortmund last January. The Norwegian coach met with the striker and thought he had an agreement in place to sign him from Salzburg.

However, ESPN says Ed Woodward pulled out of the deal after refusing to pay an £18m fee to his agent or include a release clause in the players contract. Haaland ended up joining Dortmund after they agreed to pay the agents fee and put a £68m [€75m] release clause in the 20-year-old’s deal.

Missing out on two of Europe’s most exciting young talents will have hurt Solskjaer but ESPN claims the Manchester United boss hasn’t given up hope of getting his hands on the pair as Sancho and Haaland remain his top transfer targets.

There will be a fierce battle for Sancho next year and he’s expected to cost at least the £108m United were quoted this summer but it remains to be seen what will happen with Haaland as his release clause cannot be activated until 2022.

That would make a move for the striker difficult next summer as Dortmund would surely demand a lot more than £68m to sell Haaland. Therefore, United may focus on signing Sancho next summer before targeting the Norwegian hitman the following year.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how things develop but there is no denying Man Utd would have one of the most feared attacks in football if they could add Sancho and Haaland to the likes of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood over the next couple of years.