Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said the new transfer window will be a “different place” due to the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic.
As teams across Europe are bracing for major financial losses due to playing games without sponsors and having seasons entirely canceled in some circumstances, the demand for summer transfers is shaping up to be much different than in previous years.
A large investment is likely to be curtailed, though free-agent transfers and trade transactions are predicted to gain popularity while teams are seeking to boost their teams cheaply.
Solskjaer saw his team connected with multi-star dealings of huge money, including Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho, but he said he was uncertain as to how the game would perform in the face of so much uncertainty.
“We are still trying to make the team solid,” Solskjaer told Sky Sports. “Today the world’s turmoil, nobody knows how sport and economy will be, so I’m very pleased with the community I’ve received.”The atmosphere is different now than it was two months ago. We have to change, evolve, there are teams out there that are suffering more than anyone financially. It’s a new world, and I think the transfer market this summer would be completely different from what everyone thought it would be.”
Despite the constant search for replacements on his side, Solskjaer indicated he wouldn’t be disappointed if the likes of Sancho or Grealish hadn’t been brought in due to the amount of talent that was already available to him.
“I think Mason [Greenwood], Anthony [Martial] and Marcus [Rashford] were amazing this season, scored as many as 50 goals between them,” said the Norwegian. “Marcus got his fracture, even Anthony on the way to his best season, and Mason’s goal-scoring ability is of course just a special talent.”
