MANCHESTER UNITED REMAIN in the hunt for another striker after being snubbed by Erling Braut Haaland, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he will not spend “for the sake of three or four months”.

The Red Devils had been hoping to win the race for one of the most exciting frontmen in European football.

Haaland has, however, opted to head for Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, leaving fellow Norwegian Solskjaer to turn his attention elsewhere.

The January market will be scoured for possible alternatives, but United will only make a move if suitable competition for the likes of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood can be found.

Pressed on whether he will look to bring in another frontman, Solskjaer told reporters ahead of a New Year’s Day meeting with Arsenal: “I’m a striker by nature and I’ve always been an optimist.

“I’m optimistic we can keep players fit and if the right ones become available we do have the resources and I do have the backing from the board. One addition, and if you get two additions, of course that will be competition for places.

“But it’s also about getting the right ones. It has to be. There’s no point suddenly bringing someone else in now for the sake of three or four months if that can disrupt any good feeling or chemistry in the group, because the chemistry in the group is really good.

“It has to be the right type and it has to be a good investment for the long-term as well. We always believed Anthony and Marcus were going to score goals but Mason has filled a big void, he’s chipped in with goals.

“So I’m not worried about goals from centre-forwards. Mason’s on eight now. Marcus is on 15 and Anthony has quite a few (10).

“Romelu [Lukaku] is a good striker and he’ll always score goals but it was time for him to move on. We didn’t find the right one outside our club (in the summer) but we had Mason.”

United will explore all options in January, from front to back, with Solskjaer adamant that the club are heading in the right direction as they prepare to enter a new decade.

He added: “We will consign this decade definitely, that’s just in the nature of this club. But 2020 sounds quite good for me. I’m going to make 2020 a good year for myself.

“I think we’re on the right track. We are in a transition period, we’ve seen other clubs do it and come out strong after a couple of years.

“We’re improving. I think we can see more and more of what we want to be and our identity and what we’re good at. We’re making games suit our style more and more.

“We’ve played the same way for a little while and we’re getting use to each other. We’re quite a bit away still from where we want to be and we’ll have ups and downs, but less and less of the downs hopefully.

“I’ve said we’re not a Manchester City, we can’t out-play and out-football teams like they do yet, but hopefully in a few years we can. It’s not going to be overnight. It’s only them who can do that. We are more fast-flowing, quicker attacking football.”

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!