Man Utd blocked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer signing Arsenal star and Man City striker

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wanted Man Utd to sign Declan Rice before his move to Arsenal (Picture: Getty)

Manchester United blocked former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from signing Declan Rice and Erling Haaland , according to reports.

Solskjaer, in charge of United from 2018 to 2021, wanted to bring both players to the club before they joined Arsenal and Manchester City .

Rice has established himself as one of the best midfielders on the planet since Arsenal paid West Ham £105m for the England international in 2023.

Haaland, meanwhile, has shined for City with the striker scoring 147 goals in 168 games since his £51.2m arrival from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.

It is understood Solskjaer told the United hierarchy to make moves for Rice and Haaland, as well as for Jude Bellingham , but his wish was not granted.

That’s according to the Daily Mail as United ended up signing Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Donny van de Beek instead.

Ronaldo’s second spell at Old Trafford was turbulent while Van de Beek massively flopped and Sancho has also failed to live up to expectations.

Erling Haaland was another player Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wanted to sign (Picture: Getty)

United signed Van de Beek from Ajax in a £40m deal but the midfielder only played 62 games in a five-year spell – scoring two goals and providing two assists – and was loaned out twice before being sold to Girona.

The Red Devils splashed out £73m to recruit Sancho from Dortmund with the winger currently out on loan at Aston Villa after failing to impress.

Last month, Solskjaer opened up about Sancho’s struggles at United on The Overlap.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was Man Utd boss from 2018 to 2021 (Picture: AFP/Getty)

‘We wanted to take the next step, not move away from what we had, but add something different,’ Solskjaer said when asked about the decision to sign Sancho.

‘In the final third, we wanted players who could break teams down, and Jadon, with his skill, link-up play, and little passes around the box, gave us that.

‘He was unlucky, though. Before he joined, he went on holiday, as you do, and ended up getting an ear infection.