Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 'Hopeful' of More Signings Amid Paulo Dybala Speculation

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remained coy over transfers following his team's pre-season win over home town club Kristiansund, but expressed
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 'Hopeful' of More Signings Amid Paulo Dybala Speculation
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 'Hopeful' of More Signings Amid Paulo Dybala Speculation /

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remained coy over transfers following his team's pre-season win over home town club Kristiansund, but expressed hope that more signings will be made before the deadline as the club is still 'working on one or two cases'.

United signed both Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka back in June and so far haven't been able to conclude any further deals, despite being heavily linked with a number of players.

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Harry Maguire is the obvious case, with £80m talks with Leicester ongoing and no agreement yet reached over how much of that overall valuation the Foxes would receive up front.

United are now also said to have agreed a deal in principle with Juventus for Paulo Dybala that would see Romelu Lukaku head to Turin. Dybala himself must yet agree to it, though.

There additionally continues to be major speculation about Sporting CP midfielder Bruno Fernandes, but the gossip about Sergej Milinkovic-Savic appears to have dropped off after rising up last week. United also seem to have shelved interest in Newcastle's Sean Longstaff.

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"We're working on one or two cases. It's 10 days or so before we start the league and hopefully we can announce a fresh face or two," Solskjaer said after the game in Oslo, via ManUtd.com.

The Maguire pursuit in particular may be a matter of even more urgency following news that Eric Bailly has been ruled out for around five months after undergoing knee surgery.

According to a claim from The Sun, Solskjaer will hold 'crisis talks' with United chief Ed Woodward, with the Norwegian to push even harder for Maguire's arrival in light of events.

Despite star performances in either half from Kristiansund goalkeepers Sean McDermott and Serigne Mor Mbaye, Solskjaer was critical of his side's finishing in Oslo after a slew of chances were unconverted. He is adamant they will have to be better by the time they face Chelsea.

"I've said before in press conferences that we need to be more clinical. That's where you win games," the 46-year-old explained.

"I think we're looking solid at the back. They had a great chance early in the second half and we should have done better. We're going to keep working, keep improving, keep making the relationships between the players and the patterns work even better.

"It's not a concern but it's something we're going to have to improve on."

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Valerio Pennicino/GettyImages

The arrival of Dybala would certainly help on that front. And with a deal with Juventus agreed, now it is for the club to persuade him personally that switching to United is the right move.


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