Manchester United have officially only made one signing so far in the summer window.
While a £72.9million deal for Jadon Sancho has been agreed, there are still formalities to be completed following his participation at Euro 2020.
The England star will undergo a medical at Carrington before officially being announced as a United player.
Tom Heaton has already gone through that process and was announced as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first summer signing earlier this month.
The former Aston Villa star will join a contested goalkeeping department at Old Trafford, also including Dean Henderson, David de Gea and Lee Grant.
“Tom is a Manchester United player,” Solskjaer told the club’s official site. “He’s been here and felt this is coming home and closing the circle. He’s had a very, very good career so far and been a part of the England set-up.
“For him to come in now, taking his challenge, I think is what he needed, that last step now.
“He’s such a top professional and such a top guy to have around and that will help the young lads.”
At 35, Heaton is the oldest player Solskjaer has signed since becoming Manchester United manager, with his experience set to be valuable in the dressing room.
And having players at the club that have seen it all is clearly growing in importance to Solskjaer, who has thus far tended to buy young.
With the exception of Edinson Cavani, United have looked for players to nurture and grow into Premier League stars.
Sancho is barely 21, Amad has just turned 18, Donny van de Beek struggled in his first campaign, but at just 24 he definitely has time on his side.
Facundo Pellistri and Daniel James are two more players recruited with an eye on the future, but Solskjaer has now suggested he could turn to more experienced heads.
The United boss moved to retain Juan Mata this summer and openly admitted the need for a blend within his squad.
“We are a young squad and that’s been part of the thinking,” he explained. “We have professionals that can be an example day in and day out.
“Our young lads think they know it because we bring them up through the Academy and they do learn good habits.
“But then they come into the first team and see World Cup winners like Juan and the way he conducts himself, even if he doesn’t play.
“He didn’t play as much as he would have liked to last year but he’s never ever letting himself or his team down with his attitude.
“So [they are] good examples and Lee [Grant], as well, knows he’s got good goalkeepers ahead of him but the example he sets is something we have to reward them [for] and it makes the group better, and they’re still good players.”
United were linked with Segio Ramos before his move to Paris Saint-Germain, while rumours of a Cristiano Ronaldo reunion persist.
It remains to be seen whether Solskjaer will stick to his word and continue to blend experience with youth in his growing Manchester United setup.
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