Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reached out to the media ahead of his side’s clash against the Wolves on Sunday. The Reds want to go into the international break in the best possible way – with a win!
In addition to news about his squad before the trip to Molineux, Ole also talked about the transfer business, while he was reviewing Donny van de Beek and Phil Jones.
Are you looking forward to the game in the first place?
« Yes, of course. If you are disappointed with losing two points last week, you want a game straight away. The season started a little differently. Last year we had a lot of games, this time a week in between. We are training well, fit and ready We still miss Scott, who had an operation this week. Marcus, Alex, Dean Henderson, they are not ready yet. But otherwise we have a fit squad ready to fight for points. »
Can you give us some updates on the transfer window? Jesse Lingard?
“Jesse, I see him as a Man Utd player. I know there is a lot of speculation about him but he had very good preparation for the English squad. It’s just unfortunate that he got COVID before we started.
One player who is not in the English squad is Mason Greenwood. What do you make of it?
“I think Mason is on the right track. I’ve had discussions with Gareth [Southgate] and he sees him as a potential English striker. We may see him as a very, very good talent. I think it goes step by step and I really like the way Gareth is trying to do it. I think Mason is definitely on the right track. ”
It looks like arch-rivals City are doing big business with Cristiano Ronaldo. How will that affect your title ambitions?
“We focus on the ones we have here. I don’t want to speculate too much with Cristiano and what’s going on in the press there. I have often said with speculation that when you are at Man United, when you are Messi, Ronaldo, Pogba, Bruno, you have to read a lot about yourself. Let’s see what happens to Cristiano because he’s such a legend for this club. »
Are you satisfied with your squad now or does a coach want more and more players?
“Every manager, like Jose said last week, is always looking for a little more, but I have to say that the transfer deal we did this summer… I’m happy. I am satisfied with the numbers, the quality, the personalities that we have brought in. The atmosphere and the spirit in the squad are really good. The staff with them, they really go well together. You never feel comfortable, not as a manager of course, but you go to work and see how the chemistry is right. I am very satisfied with what we have here. »
Just on Cristiano … Wayne Rooney said he couldn’t imagine going to City as a United legend. Would you be tempted?
“As I said, I don’t want to speculate too much because it’s speculation. Cristiano was a legend of this club, he’s a legend of this club, he’s the greatest player of all time if you ask me. I was lucky enough to play with him, I trained him. He almost retired me because I got injured in that Wolverhampton game because he kept switching sides. Such a great person too, so let’s see what happens to Cristiano. Everyone who has played with him has a soft spot for him. ”
Only a few players did not make Donny van de Beek into the Dutch squad today. Phil Jones came back in the preseason but seems to have disappeared again …
“I can, I’ll start with Donny. Of course we started with the team we chose against Leeds and the 5-1 win was of course a justification for the team selection. Of course it is always like that. Then we switched to the next one, Scott couldn’t play and Nemanja was our best player in the preseason, I have to say that’s why I chose Nemanja. He was great. So I went with them two. Donny worked hard, he did really well, I can’t say anything else but he will get his chances when the season starts. Last season we had the Carabao Cup games, at the beginning one game every 3 or 4 days, now we even have a week or 8 days in between. I can’t put it another way that we made a decision. Obviously, when you start off this well, you don’t want to spin too much. Scott couldn’t start, those were the choices Nemanja made instead of Donny. It was very, very, very close. He was very positive in the games. «
The United legend can’t wait for the Reds to take on the top teams in European football in the coming months.
» Phil had an awful 18-19 months and probably a year ago with injuries too. I think Rio was a little bit, not out of order, but a little bit unlucky. He should have called me and asked why Phil didn’t play or why Phil wasn’t here. Phil is an easy going guy . I think that was completely wrong. I know more than anyone what it feels like to be injured at this stage. He’s not yet 30 years old. He’s been struggling with this knee injury since I’ve been here, he has his Body at risk, every single training session, every single game. We had to manage him a couple of times. He never gave anything, he gave everything for the club. Rio should know more than go out and say this. I wanted to say a lot , but r I didn’t say much about Phil’s injury because I wanted to protect him. Phil is never on social media, never asked for interviews, he just bows his head, real, real professional, no fuss, family man. He just wants to get fit again. We managed to win him against Burnley for half an hour, that was the first half hour against an opponent. He played here in training. He works his way. I was absent for two years in three years because I had a knee injury. Phil fought valiantly, I would say. I know how Phil felt, sometimes you’re embarrassed when you walk in. But he has to look after his career and is now fit again. Now is not the time to throw it in. I think you can give him a little more time, maybe a month, six weeks. Some behind closed doors. He will be there. For me as a manager, seeing that light can be at the end of the tunnel is great because I’ve been through the same thing. I think Rio knows, I think he’s a little sorry for that. I haven’t spoken to Rio, but I think he should. I’m sorry, that was a long time, but I think Phil deserved it because he has been playing here for 10 years and has always given it his all. Thanks for the question. «
Do you see in Raphael Varane some of the elements of the great defenders you’ve played in your time at the club?
“He works really hard. When I asked if he was ready to play, we had a closed-door game against Burnley and he felt like no, I had to suffer on the training field first. He has to work because you know he was on vacation, he came in, said goodbye to Real Madrid, then he didn’t train with them, then he waited for his visa, then he came here, got isolated. We found a little garden for him, a house with a garden, he wasn’t ready to play but now he’s had a couple of weeks of training and he still looks more impressive. As a person, as a player, he has class. He will definitely be a match for Man United. I think we signed a top person and a player at the right time. A new challenge for him after being World Champion and Champions League winner with Real Madrid so many times that he probably needed a challenge and hopefully we can challenge him to take the next step. ”
Gareth Southgate has his latest Three Lions selection named, with four Reds nominated for the finalists of Euro 2020.
In the last season it often happened that you played a draw, against Southampton you scored and had the momentum, you have to step on the pedal?
« I think you’re right. They weren’t too dissimilar in that way in those two games. Of course we took the lead against Leeds, they scored, we scored, then we got the momentum and we got scored a few goals quickly and were clinical. That was the difference to Southampton, we weren’t clinical, we didn’t take our chances. We had the same or more chances. If you’re not ruthless in the box, you won’t win points in the Premier League. I watched it and we had a good 10-15 minutes after we scored and we should have scored more goals. We got lost in the last 15 minutes. Stick with your structure, believe in us, believe in what we do, believe in your teammates and stick with what you are good at. »
Cristiano is pretty ruthless, isn’t he?
“I knew you would ask! I could have been in that box and also scored a few goals, just guessed it. I have to say, like I said, he’s probably the greatest player of all time, probably him and Messi. But then it is what it is. »
Allegri said that Cristiano would like to move. He’s one of the greatest players out there so why shouldn’t Manchester United try a move like this?
“Well, it’s… I didn’t think Cristiano would leave Juventus. In the last few days, of course, there has been speculation. We always had good communication. I know that Bruno spoke to him too. He knows how we feel about him. If he ever changes from Juventus, he’ll know we’re here. ”
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