EXCLUSIVE: Man Utd urged to plug gaps rather than sign Sancho

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Manchester United goalscoring great Andy Cole has insisted the signing of Jadon Sancho will not provide a quick-fix solution to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s problems, as he hinted the arrival of alternative signings may be a better option this summer.

United have so far refused to pay Borussia Dortmund’s €120m asking price for Sancho. That is despite suggestions that they have agreed on a salary for the England man.

Yet speaking exclusively to TEAMtalk at a BT Sport event, one of United’s fabled 1999 Treble winning team urged the club’s fans to hold their fire on social media – as he insisted this might not be the summer for club-record transfer deals.

“Putting Jadon Sancho in that Man United team would not mean they win the league this season, far from it,” Cole told us. “He is a talented kid, really talented, but he will not change everything for United.

“If you don’t get Sancho and you move on to someone else. You might sign someone who could achieve more than Sancho in the long run.

“Sometimes we get caught up in big names. But the one underneath is just as good even if he has got less of a name. Bringing in two or three players with that money might be a more sensible route.

“Transfers are not easy to get done, especially in the current climate, when you are going for top players that other teams are also in the mix for.

“Social media is such a big thing now and that has changed the reaction to one big defeat. Everyone has got an opinion now and they all have a platform to express it. That wasn’t the case when I was playing.

Football landscape has changed

“Football is such an opinionated thing and everyone is an expert who wants instant results. That isn’t always possible.

 

“Finances are different now after everything that has happened in 2020. You can’t expect clubs to pay the same price for players they might have done at the start of the year.

“If spending £300m meant you would win the league, everyone would do it. Everyone who could afford it would do it, but that is not how football works.

“Sometimes we get caught up in big names and fans want to see their clubs making these signings. But the one underneath is just as good even if he has got less of a name. Bringing in two or three players with that money might be a more sensible route.”

 

READ MORE: Ousmane Dembele has rejected any chance of leaving Barcelona before the window shuts after reportedly receiving assurances from Ronald Koeman. The winger has been linked with United and Liverpool.

 

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