Highlights

  • Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reveals that he wanted to sign Erling Haaland, Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo, Jude Bellingham, and Harry Kane for Manchester United during his tenure.
  • Solskjaer admits that some of the players he wanted to bring in ended up being successful elsewhere, suggesting missed opportunities for United.
  • The ranking of Solskjaer's 14 signings at United ranges from Donny van de Beek to Bruno Fernandes

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been very vocal in recent days about the events that led to his dismissal as Manchester United manager following a 4-1 loss against Watford in November 2021. The Norwegian boss revealed that some of the players he had earmarked to potentially bring into the club during his tenure, ended up moving elsewhere and going on to be huge successes.

Speaking to The Athletic, the former United boss claimed: “We couldn’t buy the players I mentioned to the club,” before being asked which specific players he had put forward. The 50-year-old went on to give some names as he said: “We couldn’t buy the players I mentioned to the club. Erling Haaland, before he made his Salzburg debut. Declan Rice, who wouldn’t have cost what he did in the summer."

The most expensive Premier League signing could have moved to Old Trafford for a much lower transfer fee as Solskjaer said: “We discussed Moises Caicedo, but we felt we needed players ready for there and then. Brighton are very good at letting players come from abroad and find their feet for a year and a half."

Read more: The incredible Man Utd XI if Solskjaer had signed the 5 players he wanted

Along with Rice, there was a plan to bring in another two current England stars as he continued: “We wanted Jude Bellingham badly — he’s a Man United player, but I respect he chose Dortmund. That was probably sensible," and finished by saying: “I would have signed Kane every day of the week and my understanding was that he wanted to come."

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Whether the reasons were financial or circumstantial, it is hard to argue that every single one of these players would have proved their worth at Old Trafford, as they all are for their current clubs. In just under three years, Solskjaer made 14 signings and spent just shy of £350m. But how did he fare in the transfer market?

We've ranked the 14 signings he made during his spell as United manager from worst to best. The amount of money United paid for the 14 players has been sourced by Transfermarkt.

14 Donny van de Beek | Ajax to Manchester United | £35.10m

Donny van de Beek

Van de Beek is a decent player, but he wasn't given a fair chance by Solskjaer. At the moment, the £35m that United paid for him has been a waste. Injuries and inconsistency has led to him almost being frozen out of the first team plans by Erik ten Hag in 2023 after a loan move to Spain failed to materialise.

13 Tom Heaton | Aston Villa to Manchester United | Free transfer

Tom Heaton

It's hard to judge Heaton given he was bought in as a third-choice goalkeeper and has still only made three competitive appearances for the side. With David de Gea, Jack Butland and Dean Henderson all departing the club over the summer, the 37-year-old is now the back-up keeper to Andre Onana, and may be called upon if needed this season.

12 Odion Ighalo | Shanghai Shenua to Manchester United | Loan fee: £10.80m

Odion Ighalo

Always viewed as a stop-gap solution, the former Watford man struggled to live up to the expectations of a Manchester United forward. He only managed two Europa League goals across his 18-month loan spell at the English club. Ighalo was a hard worker, but was never going to make it at Old Trafford in the long-term.

11 Alex Telles | Porto to Manchester United | £13.5m

Alex Telles

Seen as the man to provide some real competition at left-back for the Red Devils, Telles has recently sealed a move away to the Saudi Pro League after a less than successful spell at Man United. Luke Shaw remains the first-choice in the position, and has even tightened his grip on the role further since the Brazilian was signed to compete with him.

10 Daniel James | Swansea to Manchester United | £16m

Dan James

A blistering start to his Man United career saw the young Welshman score goals against Chelsea and Crystal Palace in the first weeks of his time at the Premier League giants. Although things were looking bright from the very start, James did begin to struggle in front of goal and his goal contributions shot down considerably. He has since moved on, and now plies his trade at Leeds United in the Championship.

9 Jadon Sancho | Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United | £73m

Jadon Sancho

Sancho was once seen as the future of English football, hence Solskjaer's willingness - along with the club - to wait over a year to secure the Englishman's signature. The former Borussia Dortmund man flattered to deceive however, after finally sealing the move with only nine league goals to his name in more than two full seasons. He is currently involved in a public spat with current manager, Ten Hag, and as a result is frozen out of the first-team squad.

Jadon Sancho - Manchester United statistics

Appearances

82

Goals

12

Assists

6

Yellow cards

0

Red cards

0

All statistics via Transfermarkt

Read More: Man Utd: Jadon Sancho told how he can now save career at Old Trafford

8 Amad Diallo | Atalanta to Manchester United | £19.17m

Amad Diallo

When this signing was announced back in 2021, fans were extremely excited about the potential of the young winger. Patience was always going to be important when it came to Diallo, and this is shown by the fact he has still only made three league appearances for the club to this day. A successful loan spell at Sunderland in 2022/23 led to first-team chances in the recent pre-season until a long-term injury was suffered to stunt his growth further.

7 Facundo Pellistri | Penarol to Manchester United | £7.65m

Pellistri

As with Diallo, the Uruguayan winger is certainly viewed as one for the future by everyone at the club, with very few first team opportunities coming his way so far. A shortage of player in his right-wing position due to the off-field issues faced by Antony and the disciplinary problems surrounding Sancho, could mean Pellistri could be in for a prolonged spell in the side.

6 Harry Maguire | Leicester to Man United | £78.30m

Harry Maguire booed by Man Utd fans after mistake gifts goal to Athletic Bilbao

Being named the captain only six months into his time with the club did Maguire no favours at all as there was already massive pressure placed on his shoulders by the massive price tag he was signed for. It was perhaps the most ill-advised decision the Norwegian manager made during his time in the Old Trafford dug-out with the England international never really settling into his role at the club and having since been stripped of the captaincy and dropped from the team by the current boss.

Harry Maguire - Career statistics

Team

Games

Goals

Assists

Yellow Cards

Red Cards

Manchester United

176

7

5

41

1

England

59

7

2

12

1

Sheffield United

166

12

10

31

3

Leicester City

76

5

3

15

1

Hull City

74

3

5

16

0

Wigan Athletic

16

1

1

4

0

Sheffield United U18

2

0

0

0

0

All statistics per Transfermarkt

5 Aaron Wan-Bissaka | Crystal Palace to Man United | £49.50m

Manchester-United-Aaron-Wan-Bissaka

Early signs were not good for the right-back after his big money move from Crystal Palace as his lack of attacking threat and composure on the ball were highlighted greatly under the management of Solskjaer and even Ralf Ragnick, who took over as interim manager until the end of the 2021/22 season.

Since the start of the 2022/23 campaign however, Wan Bissaka's performances have improved dramatically as the defensive abilities he possesses are frightening with his pace and timing when throwing himself into a tackle. Ten Hag appears to have done wonders for him and revived the now 25-year-old's career with the club.

4 Edinson Cavani | PSG to Man United | Free transfer

Cavani

In a similar mould to Ibrahimovic a few years older, the veteran striker swapped Paris for Manchester in a move that suited all parties. Cavani came into a struggling United side, but still showed his quality throughout his stint in the country with a tireless work ethic and a clinical edge in front of goal.

3 Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus to Man United | £19.7m

Cristiano Ronaldo

At the time, it looked like a stroke of genius to bring Ronaldo home, while fending off interest from rivals Manchester City. An opening campaign that saw him not only score twice on his return to Old Trafford against Newcastle - but also ended with 26 goals in all competitions for the talismanic figure - made this piece of business look more than shrewd.

Even with poor performances by the team, which saw the manager sacked only months into the season, the former Real Madrid man was constantly finding the back of the net as if he had never left the Premier League. His second season is where things went off the rails for Ronaldo as ten Hag came in and didn't see him as a definite starter. This rubbed the forward up the wrong way and one misguided Piers Morgan later, he had left the club to move to Saudi Arabia.

2 Raphael Varane | Real Madrid to Man United | £42m

Manchester United's Raphael Varane

The former World Cup and multiple-time Champions League winner only had a few months under Solskjaer before the manager left the club. Injuries have been a consistent theme during his time with the club, but during the 2022/23 season, Varane enjoyed his most successful year in England to date as he formed a formidable partnership with Lisandro Martinez to help the club to a cup trophy and a top four finish.

1 Bruno Fernandes | Sporting Lisbon to Man United | £56.70m

Bruno Fernandes

Fernandes has been absolutely fantastic since making the move to United in 2020. He constantly gives it his all and looks set to be the club's star player for many years to come, having recently been handed the captain's armband after Maguire was stripped of the duty by ten Hag in the summer.

The Portuguese midfielder has an impressive 45 goals and 33 assists in 129 Premier League appearances since joining the Red Devils three and a half years ago.