Solskjaer eyes Madrid outcast in ‘late Man Utd transfer’

Will Ford
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Man Utd
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Man Utd

Manchester United have reportedly opened talks with Real Madrid over a potential deal for Luka Jovic as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to strengthen his attacking options.

United have already signed Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane this summer, and have been linked with a move for right-back Kieran Trippier and a number of central midfielders, including Eduardo Camavinga.

But there have been suggestions that Solskjaer may look to alter his tactics this season, playing just one defensive midfielder in order to accomodate another forward-thinking player in his side.


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United have an abundance of wide attacking options to call on, but look a bit light in the middle, with Edinson Cavani the one obvious option and Mason Greenwood another possibility.

And the Daily Express are claiming that United are looking at the ‘late transfer’ of Jovic to bolster those options.

The 23-year-old moved to Madrid from Eintracht Frankfurt for £52million in the summer of 2019, but he’s stuggled for form in Spain, scoring just two La Liga goals.

Despite his issues, Solskjaer is said to be a big admirer of the Serbian and believes he can turn his career around at Old Trafford.

The report claims United have opened talks with Los Blancos over his signing.

Meanwhile, Solskjaer has urged patience from United fans over Sancho and Varane, warning that they cannot be ‘thrown into a game’ ahead of the match against Leeds.

“The medical with Raphael has to be done,” Solskjaer said after his side defeated Everton in a pre-season friendly.

“He’s isolating at the moment, we had to wait for visas, unfortunately, that took a few more days than expected but we’ve got to follow the protocols and rules, it’s taken a few more days than we had hoped for. Jadon is in for Monday and hopefully he’ll be in decent nick and can be involved.

“We’ve had a longer pre-season than last year, last season we had a full group for five days before the Crystal Palace game, so that was a difficult one, naturally, because we went so far in Europe and played a tournament after.

“This summer, at least everyone has had three weeks off. Some have had four, some have had five, we’re still lacking match minutes for a few. But we’re getting there, better prepared than last season.

“Some started July 5, some trained with us for the first time this week, of course Jadon is next week and Raphael hopefully when the medical is sorted he’ll be a few days with us.

“But we have to get them through a fitness regime and programme. We can’t just throw them into a game. The staff are doing great work, the sports science guys are working hard to get everyone up to speed as quickly as possible.”