Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits he sympathises with the growing frustration among Manchester United fans but insists the club are still working on signing new players before the summer window closes.
The Norwegian presided over a dramatic improvement in United’s form towards the end of last season, culminating in a fourth place finish in the Premier League and a run to the semi-finals of the Europa League.
Bruno Fernandes’ arrival in January from Sporting Lisbon helped galvanise the entire club and it was hoped that further A-List additions would be made to the squad during the close season.
United were able to confirm the signing of Donny van der Beek from Ajax earlier this month, but Solskjaer has been frustrated in his attempts to land his other targets, primarily Jadon Sancho.
Borussia Dortmund are unwilling to budge on their £100million valuation of the England international, a price United are unwilling to pay. Jack Grealish and Gareth Bale were considered as alternatives but the Aston Villa star signed a new contract this week, while Spurs are set to resign their former talisman on loan from Real Madrid.
According to ESPN, United have become increasingly agitated by the clamour, particularly on social media, for new signings and, speaking ahead of their opening game of the new season against Villa, Solskjaer attempted to diffuse the growing dissatisfaction.
He said: ‘Fans will always want the best possible team to watch, the best possible Man United team and that’s the passion we want and the history we have.
‘We can look back 10 or 20 years and you look back at the great players we have and, for me, going forward, since Sir Alex left we’ve been averaging fifth.
‘Last season we got third which was a big step forward, everyone saw development, Bruno coming in, Harry being captain and showing leadership skills, Aaron did well.
‘We want to take a step forward and we can go into the new season with confidence but we’re looking to give the group a boot and we’re working on it.’
‘Of course, we’ve done some business with Donny, very happy delighted to get him in, an exceptional smashing lad that’ll give us something.
‘I can’t say anything about other clubs’ players, can’t speculate. We understand to get further we need to develop what we have and strengthen the team but let’s wait and see if we manage to bring anyone in.
‘I’ve been in dialogue with the club, we’re always discussing and let’s see if we can bring anyone in.’
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