Man Utd’s broken transfer promise Solskjaer’s sudden U-turn

The January transfer window has slammed shut.

And for Manchester United it was a relatively quiet one in which only Amad Diallo arrived at Old Trafford after he signed for the club in the summer window.

A number of players did leave United, though.

The most notable among these were Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who joined Bayer Leverkusen, and Jesse Lingard, who signed for West Ham on loan until the end of the season.

Here we look at three talking points from Manchester United's transfer window, including the club allegedly breaking a promise, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handing one individual a lifeline and Ed Woodward's demand ahead of signing a new centre-back.

Man United break transfer promise?

Facundo Pellistri joined Manchester United from Penarol in the summer transfer window.

There was much interest in the young Uruguayan, but the Red Devils won the £9million race, with Penarol vice-president Rodolfo Cantino and club secretary Evaristo Gonzalez speaking out about the deal in an interview after negotiations with United were complete.

Both Cantino and Gonzalez claimed that Man United had insisted that Pellistri will be going "straight into the first team" at Old Trafford.

And as a result, United weren't going to agree to loan him back.

"Of course we asked for it [a loan deal]," Cantino told Uruguayan outlet Referi after the deal was completed in the summer window.

"We tried in every way but they argued that they wanted the player now. It's normal, when an European club buy a player, they travel immediately."

Penarol secretary Gonzalez added: "Pellistri goes straight to the first team. Going to play. In the negotiation they asked me if I could guarantee them if he was in the bubble because they need him. Then it will be a matter of the manager if he uses him."

But if Cantino and Gonzalez's claims are to be believed then it seems United went back on their promise by allowing Pellistri to leave on loan this January.

The young forward, who has yet to make his Man United debut, has signed for Spanish side Alaves for the remainder of the season.

Solskjaer makes selection U-turn

Phil Jones has been in the cold at Manchester United.

The centre-back was left out of the Red Devils' Champions League and Premier League teams this season, and looked certain to leave this January.

But the defender generated no interest, and things were looking rather bleak for Jones.

Until Solskjaer spoke in his Monday press conference, that is.

Suggesting we could see the centre-back in the second half of the season, the Norwegian told reporters: "Phil [Jones] has been recovering from a knee injury, an operation he had.

"He will be included on [Manchester United's squad] list and hopefully he'll get his fitness back sooner rather than later and be available to play."

Solskjaer then went one better by keeping his word and adding Jones to United's squad.

Woodward's summer window demand

Solskjaer has been instructed by Woodward to sell three Manchester United players to free up funds for a new centre-back ahead of the summer transfer window.

As reported by Mirror Sport, United are in the market for a new defender to partner captain Harry Maguire at centre-back, and have identified Jules Kounde as a target.

The Sevilla star will set United back around £60million, and Woodward is keen for the club to move on the deadwood before splashing more cash.

The players on the chopping block are: Jones, Marcos Rojo and Sergio Romero.

Argentine defender Rojo is in talks to join Boca Juniors, while keeper Romero failed to secure a deal away from United this January.

As aforementioned, Solskjaer has handed Jones a lifeline, but if he is serious about signing Kounde then he will look to move him on at the end of the season.

Kounde joined Sevilla from Bordeaux 18 months ago, and is recognised as one of La Liga's brightest young talents. But there are a queue of clubs monitoring the young Frenchman's progress, including Bayern Munich, Juventus and Real Madrid.

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