Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Reveals Man Utd's Transfer Plans for January Window

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that the club will look to replace both Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku in the January transfer

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that the club will look to replace both Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku in the January transfer window.

Both players left for Inter during the summer, but United declined to bring in replacements for either - and now an injury crisis in attack has left Solskjaer's squad looking considerably weaker.

VI-Images/GettyImages

Speaking ahead of his side's clash with Arsenal on Monday (via The Mirror), Solskjaer admitted that they did look to sign a new striker before this season started, but they weren't convinced by the available options.

He said: "Of course, if we had the right one, if he was there, we would have signed him. There were strikers, but they weren't the ones we wanted. We couldn't get the one we wanted.

"It was time for [Lukaku] to go. He knows that. He didn't want to be here. What is the point in having players that don't wanna be here? And it's no point getting players in that you're not 100% sure about. When you get players in you need the right ones that are going to stay here for a longer period.

"That's the long-term thinking we have to show. I cannot think, 'I need a player because this is my reputation'. No, it's about the club.”

When pressed on whether Solskjaer would look to act in the January transfer window, the boss made it clear that signing an attacker is his top priority, confessing: "We let Alexis and Romelu go, so you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that it's forward we need that next time we're going to recruit,” he added.

According to The Athletic, Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic is at the top of United's wish list. The Croatian is believed to be keen on the move after falling out of favour in Turin, and United are ready to act on that to give them more depth in attack.

Paolo Rattini/GettyImages

"We're looking for some creativity and goals. We need to score more goals, definitely. We're working on improving relationships, the patterns, the understanding," Solskjaer continued.

"We've started at one end with the foundation, we've done great defensively, but we're not happy with the return going forward."