United are 'all about trophies'

LONDON • After making two transformative signings in Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, Manchester United have no excuse for not giving champions Manchester City a proper run for their money in the Premier League title race.

United finally landed longstanding target Sancho for £73 million (S$137 million) last month before making another eye-catching move, with the transfer of French World Cup-winning defender Raphael Varane nearly a done deal.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer yesterday confirmed there were still some technicalities that had to be sorted out regarding the former Real Madrid player's move, so he will not be part of the squad for today's home game against Leeds. Sancho is expected to be involved.

Varane should bring much-needed pace and control to a defence that has relied too much on captain Harry Maguire in the last two seasons, while Sancho can light up an already powerful and pacey attack and share the team's creative responsibility with playmaker Bruno Fernandes.

United made another big investment this summer in handing Solskjaer a three-year deal and the much-loved fan favourite, owing to his super-sub exploits as a player, must now turn the 20-time English champions back into the force they were before Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

City, once dismissed by the Scot as "noisy neighbours", are undoubtedly the biggest force in Manchester now and are clear favourites to retain their crown and win their fourth title in five years after adding Jack Grealish to their squad for £100 million, a British record.

Yet Solskjaer, 48, has been given more time and money than any of Ferguson's successors - David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho. All three were sacked after failing to lead the Red Devils to their first title since 2013 and if Solskjaer cannot sustain a serious title charge, he will face renewed questions about his suitability to coach England's biggest club.

Despite having spent more than £350 million, the Norwegian has yet to win a trophy since his appointment in 2019.

Turning the heat up on his former United teammate, pundit Gary Neville told Sky Sports: "Last season (runners-up in the league) was more than acceptable in terms of on the journey but this year, they've got to get nearer. They've got to get close to challenging for the title and that's going to be really tough."

Solskjaer yesterday admitted he was facing a season of reckoning at Old Trafford, saying at his pre-match press conference: "It's always pressure before every season, you know that. We have to get a good start, of course. We have expectations ourselves.

"This club is all about trophies, about good football, and my expectations are that we keep developing, keep developing our style and play good football. You never know with results in football but hopefully when we get to March, April, May, we're there, thereabouts. The team look hungry and we've done good business so I feel confident."

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Besides the missing Varane, Eric Bailly, Amad Diallo and Edinson Cavani are unlikely to feature against Leeds due to quarantine.

Alex Telles and Marcus Rashford are both set to be ruled out due to injury while Jesse Lingard and Dean Henderson are also likely to miss out because of Covid-19.

Leeds have made several buys this summer, including Spanish left-back Junior Firpo from Barcelona for £13 million, but their most important signing will be the one-year contract extension given to coach Marcelo Bielsa this week.

Last season, the Argentinian led the promoted club to a ninth-place finish in the league - their highest position since 2001-02 - while playing a brand of eye-catching football.

Calling Leeds an "extraordinary" club, the 66-year-old Bielsa said: "It's not often you have a club that designates so much volume of investment to the improvement of the training facilities."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

MAN UNITED V LEEDS

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