Solskjaer set to reveal United captaincy decision ‘soon’

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says there will be an announcement “soon” about the captaincy for the new season.

Last term’s club captain Antonio Valencia departed United this summer and the armband has been worn by four players during pre-season – David De Gea, Ashley Young, Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata.

Tuesday’s 1-0 friendly win over Kristiansund in Norway saw goalkeeper De Gea skipper for the first 60 minutes and full-back Young, who regularly captained the side in 2018-19, then take over.

Solskjaer was quoted on United’s official website as saying when asked whether De Gea would be made captain on a permanent basis: “We’ve got different captain types.

“There are vocal leaders and players like David, who has merit with what he’s done and he’ll play the majority of the games. We’ll announce something soon.”

Paul Pogba is another player who has donned the armband during Solskjaer’s reign, in the 2-1 FA Cup loss to Wolves in March.

As well as the captaincy issue, there could also be news on the transfer front in the coming week.

United are being linked with Juventus forward Paulo Dybala, with it being reported that the Argentina international could be part of a swap deal that sees Romelu Lukaku go the other way.

Solskjaer refused to name names following the Kristiansund match but said of possible comings and goings “we’re working on one or two cases.”

The Red Devils have so far this summer signed defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace and midfielder Daniel James from Swansea.

When asked about his thoughts on the squad ahead of next week’s transfer deadline, Solskjaer told Sky Sports News on Thursday: “I think we’re looking good.

“Of course, we’ve been working on a few cases over the summer. It’s never easy. I have to say the club has been very good but the market is very hard. We’re trying to get into the start of the season with the squad that we want.”

Solskjaer has also expressed his concern about the transfer window closing earlier in England than in other countries.

The 46-year-old said: “I think we have picked the short straw to be fair. Because you know when our league starts, there are still three more weeks, there could still be clubs hovering around your players. I don’t think it’s a good one for us, no.”

The window closes next Thursday, with United playing their Premier League opener at home against Chelsea three days later. Their final pre-season friendly is against AC Milan in Cardiff this Saturday.