There’s plenty of chatter out there about the job security of Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer right now. Some are reporting that his seat is warming and that Old Trafford even has a potential replacement or two lined up.
There are other outlets however, who claim United is committed to OGS for the long haul, and willing to pack him with a war chest the next couple transfer windows. The more credible outlets, and general consensus seems to believe the Norwegian will get a chance to see this thing through.
If so, he reportedly has a top target in mind in FC Rostov Midfielder Mathias Normann.
According to the Business Times, “The Norwegian gaffer views Normann as a cheap option to shore up United’s squad in light of the disappointing performances of Nemanja Matic and Fred.”
Meanwhile the Daily Mirror writes that Solskjaer: “has been promised cash to spend in the January transfer window, and Normann is reportedly one of the players he would like to sign.”
While the January transfer window is traditionally not one for making major moves, Old Trafford will definitely have to get a lot of business done in the new year. Their final third is very thin, and performing abysmal right now, so a forward must be the top priority. Speaking to that, Erling Braut Haaland is certainly at the top of Solskjaer/United wish list.
They did a good job rebuilding the defense this summer, but they have holes in midfield that must be filled. Mario Mandzukic and Christian Eriksen are still reportedly on their radar as the team never truly filled the voids that were created by the departures of Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini.
Normann was previously contracted to a Premier League side, Brighton & Hove Albion, but didn’t feature during the three year stint in which he was technically a part of their side. The 23-year-old, who won the Russian Premier League Player of the Month award for September, spent part of that time out on loan to Molde where he was signed by, plot twist, Solskjaer.
So this is somebody that OGS knows well, and would be adjust quickly to the systems that he’s implementing at Old Trafford. And according to Goal, the holding midfielder and Norwegian international is valued at about £20 million in the transfer market.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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