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Rob DawsonCorrespondent
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted that Manchester United‘s summer transfer window has not gone as planned.
United are set to start their season against Crystal Palace on Saturday with one new recruit in their squad after signing Donny van de Beek from Ajax.
But the club have struggled to get other deals over the line, including their attempts to reach an agreement with Borussia Dortmund for Jadon Sancho.
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“Sometimes it doesn’t happen as planned,” Solskjaer told a news conference on Friday. “Life isn’t a straight line here. Sometimes things happen. There’s still a few weeks left on the transfer window.
“It might happen that we get someone in. I work with a club and they know what I feel this team and the squad needs. Let’s see if we can add to what we have.”
United have until Oct. 5 to bring in new players and while Solskjaer admits he would rather have new faces at Carrington now, the Norwegian is willing to wait if it means getting the right player.
“You want always to have as long as possible with players,” said Solskjaer. “I think last season though shows that good players can adapt and get into a group quickly.
“Harry [Maguire] came in very late in the transfer window and had a great impact on the performances in the team.”
The club’s struggle in the transfer market has caused frustration among supporters ahead of a season during which they were hopeful of closing the gap with Manchester City and Liverpool.
Solskjaer, though, insists it’s not easy for United to get the players they want, particularly during a transfer window in the middle of a pandemic.
“You can’t ignore the impact of the coronavirus,” said Solskjaer. “I think that’s really changed the market.
“It has been more or less in a period that maybe negotiations will happen. Of course the financial uncertainty of that has added on the difficulty of predicting where we’re at.
“I want players in the building that we want to work with and who want to be a part of it, and who want to be here.
“One, you need the quality on the pitch. You also need the personal qualities and to really want to be here, and you need to show that you want to be here. That’s really important for us as a group.
“We’re looking at a small pool of players that can add to the quality of our team, and let’s see what we can do. They are working hard and I understand that they are working hard.”