OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER’S summer signings are a sure indication that Manchester United are done with the quick fix.
Done with the superstar names that have drained the club coffers.
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Done with people who saw Old Trafford as just another step on their career path, rather than the biggest leap.
At £45million — rising to £50m — Aaron Wan- Bissaka is the FIFTH most expensive player in United’s history.
The hope is his stay at Old Trafford offers a lot more than those four that lie above him — Paul Pogba £89m, Romelu Lukaku £75m, Angel Di Maria £59.7m and Fred on £52m.
At just over £275m, those four can hardly have been regarded as value for money.
Big names but little in the way of productivity.
What Solskjaer wants now is young, hungry players who want to grow into stars at United in the way he did.
In the way the Class of ’92 did and the likes of Roy Keane, Nemanja Vidic, Cristiano Ronaldo and many more did.
United made them and they in return helped make Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.
So enter right-back Wan-Bissaka, 21, from Crystal Palace, hot on the heels of the £15m capture of winger Daniel James, 21, from Swansea.
Two signings that might have been welcomed with a shrug in the past but are now eagerly anticipated by the United faithful.
Fans fed up with seeing highly-paid stars getting nowhere near the standards set in the past.
Supporters sick of seeing social-media posts of players who think they are already big stars giving it the big ’un on the back of a poor season.
Of course Sir Alex was not averse to splashing out on the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rio Ferdinand.
But he had done his homework on them. He knew they were desperate to prove something at the very top.
More recently, when it came to names Zlatan Ibrahimovic was probably what United needed at the time, Bastian Schweinsteiger was not.
Sir Alex always said it was as important to look into the player’s character as much as their ability before you bought them.
Who looked into the characters of Pogba, Alexis Sanchez, Lukaku and Fred?
Sanchez signed for United because they offered a bigger wage then Manchester City.
Yet Fergie always said you did not need to go looking for the money when you were at United, it would find you.
In other words, if you are successful here the cash will come.
Sadly in recent years, signings have looked at the figures on their deal first rather than the crest on the famous red shirt.
It has needed a rethink and if it takes a bit of time the fan base will allow it.
If they can see young players who want to make it at United and make them big again, there is hope once more.
Hope that Solskjaer can take United back to the future.
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