Executive vice-chairman of Manchester United has today said “It’s fair to say we are focused on strengthening the squad and looking at some players to sell”.
He also insisted “We’re not afraid to move in the market in a way we haven’t in recent years.” He said: “Historically, we’ve had roughly three sales and three purchases each year, and it’s possible we’ll do more than that. It’s a dynamic situation.
“We’re not in the position we want to be in and we’re working hard to change that. We will invest in our squad as needed to make sure we’re competing at the highest level.” Said Woodward “Our focus is on building a competitive squad to challenge for trophies. We have the ability to buy players… to make sure we are competing at the top level.”
United have struggled to find form this term after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. Under David Moyes the red devils are 16 points behind league leaders Chelsea and are out of both the F.A cup and Capital one Cup. However they are through to the last 16 in the champions league where they will face Greek side Olympiakos.
United broke their transfer record in January spending a staggering £37.1million to bring in Spanish midfielder Juan Mata from Premier league rivals Chelsea. Woodward said: “We are very pleased to have added a world-class player in Juan Mata to our squad, who has already made a positive impact.”
United’s only major summer signing was that of Belgian midfielder Marouanne Fellaini from Everton for £27.5million. However he has made only 11 appearances for the club and has been out since the beginning of December after a wrist operation.
Man United face tough few games travelling to Arsenal tonight and then to Olympiakos for their first leg clash on Tuesday 25th.
When asked what it would mean for United to miss out on Champions League qualification, Woodward said: “It takes a long time to build a huge fan base. That will not go away for a long time”
“Some of our competitors have not won the league for a long time and they still sell a lot of shirts globally. So that is not something I am sitting here concerned about.”
