As Manchester United recorded their third victory over Manchester City in all competitions this season, at Old Trafford on Sunday, there were plenty of positives for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to take away.
Joining Jurgen Klopp in an illustrious group of only two managers to have outsmarted the Catalan three times in one campaign, the smile could not be wiped from the Norwegian’s face. And who could blame him?
It wasn’t that long ago fans were calling for the treble winner to be sacked as United struggled in the league but now, after a 10-game unbeaten run which has seen them close the gap on fourth-placed Chelsea to just three points, things are looking up in M16 and the euphoria from Sunday afternoon’s 2-0 win will linger.
The tactical awareness displayed by Solskjaer yet again silenced his critics but one of the biggest positives from the derby victory, and the recent run of good results, is that it is further vindication the club’s change in transfer strategy in the last 18 months is paying off.
Since the former forward took permanent charge at Old Trafford United have made five signings and they’ve helped to turn the club’s fortunes around. There has been plenty of finger pointing over who is to blame for United’s failure to win a league title since Sir Alex Ferguson retired and quite understandably questions were raised over the club’s spending.
Hundreds of millions of pounds have been spent and yet they have struggled to mount a serious title challenge in years. But the last two windows have offered more than a glimpse of hope that the rebuild Solskjaer has so often spoken about is starting to go along the right track.
“Player signings are very systematic,” Solskjaer told Norwegian outlet TV2 this week. “It takes many hours, and there are many people and many hours of player analysis that underlie a list that is presented to me.
“And then I follow football myself, so I have wishes myself. But I have an impression on what kind of football player I want and what kind of person I want to join the club.”
That impression of young, ambitious, exciting players has helped in part lead to the acquisition of Daniel James, Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and more recently Bruno Fernandes and Odion Ighalo.
Fernandes has undoubtedly made the biggest impact out of the five. The 25-year-old has given the team a spark that was lacking. He was named Player of the Month in his first month at the club and was instrumental in the derby win at the weekend. The clever balls and intricacies which have been missing in United’s play too many times this season have returned and they no longer look like a side missing Paul Pogba.
Even Odion Ighalo, whose deadline day loan move from Shanghai Shenhua was widely criticised, is looking like an astute signing. His hold up play and clever flick led to Scott McTominay’s derby goal on Sunday and the ex-Nigeria international has had a positive impact both on and off the pitch.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s imperious display meanwhile underlined his impact this season. He won over 85 per cent of his duels, pocketed Raheem Sterling and was one of the best players on the pitch. The former Crystal Palace full-back has been a strong addition to a team that had been lacking defensively as well as offensively before the arrival of Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire.
There are plenty of positive signs as the club continue with their preparations for the summer transfer window. Clearly the recruitment strategy isn’t solely down to Solskjaer. It is still executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward who signs off the deals and Matt Judge, head of corporate development, who negotiates. But the Norwegian does have a say and an influence over how he is moulding his team.
And his first five signings have shown it is moving in the right direction. He wants at least three signings in the next window and the priority targets have already been outlined.
Talents such as Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Jude Bellingham are all of interest and if the club can have a window as successful as the one that has just passed then their rebuild could finally start to gather some momentum.
Source: https://thenationonlineng.net/u-s-to-partner-osun-in-tourism/
The arrivals of Bruno Fernandes, Odion Ighalo, Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James have had a big impact at Manchester United