Solskjaer preparing £140m Man Utd summer transfer splurge which hinges on Jesse Lingard

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is ready to add to his modest summer transfer budget by letting four first-team stars, including Jesse Lingard, leave on permanent deals

Posted Tuesday, March 16, 2021 by Dailystar.co.uk

Manchester United could have a budget in the region of £140m during the upcoming summer transfer window if they are able to offload four out-of-favour first-team stars.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will once again be looking to strengthen his squad after coming up short in their Premier League title battle with rivals Manchester City, despite a top four spot looking likely.

Before the 2020/21 campaign, United spent £75m on Donny van de Beek, Alex Telles, Amad Diallo and Facundo Pellestri, with Edinson Cavani taking some of the wages freed up by the exit of Alexis Sanchez.

That would have given Solskjaer a good idea of what might be available this summer, but it will depend on both their league position and status in Europe.

Jesse Lingard could leave Man Utd for £20m thanks to his fine form at West Ham

Metro have reported that Solskjaer would be given a budget of around £80m should United secure Champions League qualification, adding that he intends to raise funds through player sales.

The report adds that Jesse Lingard could go for around £20m thanks to his fine form at West Ham and that Diogo Dalot could leave for more than the £18m they paid for him thanks to his extended contract.

In addition, Phil Jones could go for £10m amid interest from other Premier League clubs - and that Juan Mata could be sold even after the club decided to trigger a one-year extension in his contract.

Those deals could help the budget rise to £140m - which would be enough to make some notable improvements to what is a promising squad.

Solskjaer said in February that he is keen to focus on quality rather than quantity, giving fans an insight into his transfer plans at Old Trafford.

"We look at the squad every window and see what is out there, see what we feel we need. There might be injuries in the squad, there might be different reasons for a change," he said.

"And our transfer plans, of course we have long-term plans and I feel my squad now is more and more full of younger players that can improve.

"I have a strong squad, a deep squad. I can’t say if it’s going to be 'X' amount of signings in the summer. We still look at players and it has to be the right one. It is not the amount of transfers."