Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick revealed on Friday that his request to sign a striker in January was rejected by the club despite losing Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood during that period.
France forward Martial joined Sevilla on loan while Greenwood was suspended by United over rape and assault allegations.
Rangnick said that Porto's Luis Diaz, Julian Alvarez of River Plate and Fiorentina's Dusan Vlahovic were on his wishlist but the German was told that "there was no player on the market that could really help us".
Diaz ultimately signed for rivals Liverpool and has been an immediate success, making vital contributions to the club's pursuit of an unprecedented quadruple. Alvarez also signed for one of United's rivals, completing a switch to Manchester City before remaining on loan at River, while Vlahovic joined Juventus and has hit the ground running in Turin, including scoring 33 seconds into his Champions League debut.
"We had four days off at the time and on the Sunday I was informed about the issues with Mason Greenwood and obviously Anthony Martial had already left," Rangnick said ahead of Saturday's Premier League trip to Brighton and Hove Albion.
"I was aware that within four days we had some strikers missing and it might make sense, we were still in three competitions - Champions League, FA Cup and fourth in the league. I spoke to the board ... but in the end the answer was no.
"I still believe that we should have at least tried, if we would've found and been able in 48 hours – 48 hours is short notice but it's still 48 hours, it might have been worth to try and internally discuss but we didn't."
United have been reliant on Cristiano Ronaldo for goals - 24 in all competitions - this season, with Edinson Cavani's game time limited due to injury and Marcus Rashford struggling for form.
United, who will welcome Erik ten Hag as their permanent manager in the summer, are currently sixth in the league, five points off the last Champions League spot with two games to play.
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Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
OIL PLEDGE
At the start of Russia's invasion, IEA member countries held 1.5 billion barrels in public reserves and about 575 million barrels under obligations with industry, according to the agency's website. The two collective actions of the IEA this year of 62.7 million barrels, which was agreed on March 1, and this week's 120 million barrels amount to 9 per cent of total emergency reserves, it added.
Abramovich London
A Kensington Palace Gardens house with 15 bedrooms is valued at more than £150 million.
A three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront bought for £22 million.
Steel company Evraz drops more than 10 per cent in trading after UK officials said it was potentially supplying the Russian military.
Sale of Chelsea Football Club is now impossible.
if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
