Manchester United will follow the ‘patient’ approach taken by Liverpool in the transfer market when the window reopens in January, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking to modernise their scouting.
The Red Devils have endured a poor start to the new season and sit just two points above the relegation zone after only winning twice in the Premier League.
There is plenty of sympathy among United’s hierarchy for the task Solskjaer faces and they still intend to back the Norwegian with a number of signings over the coming windows.
However, the Daily Mail report that United do not want to be pressured into making any panic signings due to their perilous position and will only bring in their top targets.
They made a knee-jerk decision to sign Alexis Sanchez when he became available almost two years ago and do not want to repeat that, instead taking a leaf out of Liverpool’s book.
The club’s decision-makers have ‘learned’ from how Liverpool waited six months to land top target Virgil van Dijk when they had the opportunity to sign inferior targets in the intervening time.
The choice to hold out for Van Dijk until he was available despite their leaky defence at the time has been vindicated by the Dutchman’s impressive performances and Liverpool’s Champions League win.
The Daily Mail’s report also reveals that Solskjaer has been urging the club to use Spanish transfer consultancy company Driblab to help with recruitment.
The scouting company is heavily used by clubs in La Liga and has a database of over 100,000 players, with Solskjaer keen to tap into that and bring a more analytical approach to United’s transfer business.
At present, United lean more on their extensive network of scouts than data, but Solskjaer wants to modernise their approach.
Again, Liverpool have been used as an example of the benefits of changing the way United operate in the transfer market, with the Merseysiders using modern data and stats to unearth a bargain in the form of Philippe Coutinho – who later moved to Barcelona in a £155m deal.
