Harry Maguire could make his Manchester United debut against Chelsea next weekend, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hinted.
The England international is on the verge of becoming the most expensive defender in the world as the finishing touches are being made on his £80m transfer from Leicester City to the 'Theatre of Dreams'.
Once made official, the Red Devils will have spent over £100m on improving their defence this summer, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka arriving from Crystal Palace for £50m.
But whilst the right-back has had time to settle in and get to know his new teammates, Maguire will only have roughly a week to forge new partnerships.
However, having played pre-season games for the Foxes he could be thrown in at the deep end against the Blues next weekend.
"Let's get the last details over the line but yeah," Solskjaer told reporters. "He’s played a few games over the summer so we’ll have to assess him if and when.
"There might be injuries, suspensions, you can’t think 'What if he comes?' or 'What if he's sold?' you’ve got to work with the ones you have and what the reality is.
"‘I’ve never been thinking like, 'Well I’ll play him but [another player] is coming in'. So everyone that has been part of pre-season is going to have a big part to play.
"And most of them have impressed."
Another player who could feature against the Blues is midfielder Paul Pogba.
The France international missed the penalty shoot-out win over AC Milan through injury, although reports claimed his absence was transfer related amid links to Real Madrid.
Premier League clubs have until Thursday to make further additions to their squad, but the window for clubs across Europe will remain open until next month.
It's unlikely that the Red Devils will entertain offers - if any - for Pogba after Thursday as they would have to wait until January to find a replacement.
With that said, Solsjkaer expects to keep the midfielder and revealed he decided against risking the Frenchman against the Serie A side.
"I wasn't expecting him [to travel]," Solskjaer added. "I spoke to him after training and he didn't feel right. It's not an injury, it's just some pain. I wasn't going to risk anything."
Chelsea head to Old Trafford on the back of a 2-2 pre-season friendly draw against Borussia Monchengladbach as penalties from Tammy Abraham and Ross Barkley saw Frank Lampard's side fight back from 2-0 down.
