Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has laughed off his secret chat with Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake, insisting he has no need to sign a centre-back with seven already on the books at Manchester United.
After United’s 5-2 victory over Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Saturday, television cameras caught Solskjaer telling Ake: “We need a left-footed centre-back, so keep going.”
Ake is battling relegation with Eddie Howe’s side but is believed to be attracting interest from top Premier League clubs, with Manchester City among those linked to the 25-year-old.
Solskjaer has Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof as his two first-choice centre-halves, with Eric Bailly, Axel Tuanzebe, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and youngster Teden Mengi in reserve.
Of those options only Rojo, who recently returned from a loan spell with Estudiantes, is left-footed, while Lindelof, Jones and Tuanzebe are all injury doubts for Thursday’s trip to Aston Villa.
Nevertheless, Solskjaer denied that he is looking for a new signing in the centre of defence.
“I’ve got seven centre-backs so I don’t know where that’s come from,” he said, when asked about Ake. “We’re fine.”
Meanwhile, Solskjaer believes United may need to win all of their remaining games in order to be sure of a top-four finish, despite their run of good form.
After Leicester City’s draw with Arsenal last night, and with United visiting the King Power on the final weekend, five wins from their last five games will guarantee Champions League football next season.
“If you win every single one, we’re in the top four,” he said. “We cannot rely on help from anyone else. We have to do it ourselves and go into next season.”
United are unbeaten in 16 games across all competitions – a run stretching back to the defeat against Burnley in January – but Solskjaer believes that run has to be extended further.
“The 16 games unbeaten gives us more confidence, but 16 games is nowhere near what a Man United team should strive towards. We can still go many more games unbeaten if we focus on the right things.”
