One of the running themes at Manchester United in recent weeks has been one of Red Devils managers past and present bemoaning the absence of a couple of stand-out big-names who could – and maybe should – have ended up at Old Trafford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, during that eye-opening interview with The Overlap, admitted that he wanted Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham to join him at Manchester United long before they became bonafide household names at Man City and Real Madrid.
Erik ten Hag, in his own discussion with legendary right-back Gary Neville, then spoke out about United’s interest in Frenkie de Jong and Harry Kane (Sky Sports). Despite chasing the former throughout the summer of 2022, De Jong opted to stay with Barcelona.
As for Kane, a man who scored 43 goals in 44 games for Bayern Munich, would have come in handy indeed at a Man United side on negative goal difference heading towards mid-May.
Manchester United host Arsenal on Sunday
“In this period, we couldn’t always get the players we wanted,” Ten Hag said. “It would’ve been De Jong and Casemiro playing and complementing each other (in my midfield).
“We have had some choices made with talents like Rasmus Hojlund. I can see a striker (Kane) who already proved it, who we want to sign and we couldn’t get him. And then we went to Rasmus because he’s a talent.”
On Sunday afternoon, Arsenal travelling to Old Trafford hoping to get one over on their old rivals and more three points closer to Premier League glory as a result, Man United will come up against another elite-level footballer who slipped through the Red Devils’ fingers.
Solskjaer admits he wanted Declan Rice while still a relative up-and-comer at West Ham. The England international was on United’s wishlist again in 2023, though there was never any chance of Rice ending up in the North West by that point with Arsenal stumping up a £105 million fee baulked at by a side with Financial Fair Play regulations to stay on the right side of.
Solskjaer wanted Declan Rice from West Ham
“He’s a very good player,”Ten Hag says of Rice ahead of his pre-match press conference. “He would absolutely have fitted here.”
If you were to describe what it means to be ‘a Manchester United player’, you’d end up describing something a lot like Arsenal’s number 41. A Bryan Robson-esque, Roy Keane-like force of nature in the centre of the park.
Take note Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, this is what a £100 million-plus midfielder looks like.
“Yeah, I really, really like him as a player,” Solskjaer admitted back in March, Rice presicely the kind of all-action, all-round enforcer United are crying out for these days.
“We discussed him a few times and I think we would have done well with him in midfield. I think his legs, covering the pitch. I think he improved a lot on his playmaking as well.
“Obviously, he would have cost some money but we could have and should have gone for him.”