"You are at the best place. It's the biggest club in the world."
Sunday 30 December 2018 07:22, UK
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer plans to talk David De Gea and Anthony Martial into staying at Manchester United beyond the end of next season.
Both players have had their contracts extended until June 2020 by United vice-chairman Ed Woodward, having failed to agree new long-term deals despite protracted negotiations at the club.
Solskjaer has enjoyed a winning start 'on loan' as United's interim manager since replacing Jose Mourinho but is is due to return to Norwegian side Molde at the end of the campaign.
But having turned down several opportunities to leave United during his 11 seasons as a player at Old Trafford, Solskjaer is keen to convince the current crop to follow suit.
"I know the club want them to sign because they are top quality players," said Solskjaer, who believes he will have an input on any transfers at United during the January window.
"It's down to the players but when you're at Man United there isn't a lot of greener grass on the other side. You are at the best place. It's the biggest club in the world.
"For me, I would hope I can help or guide these players to maybe tip them over to thinking they want to stay at this club.
"If you are a regular at Manchester United, I think you should grasp the opportunity to stay here and become part of the history."
Martial's agent Philippe Lamboley publicly declared Martial wanted to leave United under Jose Mourinho in the summer and said this month the club were far from agreeing a long-term deal.
De Gea has been repeatedly linked with a move to a number of top European clubs, most notably Real Madrid.
"I had loads of offers and possibilities to move but the manager (Ferguson) sat me down and told me I was going to be an important part of his team, his squad and I was going to play enough games," said Solskjaer.
"I felt privileged to play here. I am also stubborn. The club agreed to sell me to Spurs one time and I said 'no, thank you.' My agent wanted me to go, but I knew I was at the best place.
"I wasn't sure the grass was greener somewhere else. I had a period when I wasn't playing. I would get angry. Then he would put me in the team and I would feel a big part of it and important.
"Sir Alex was the best when it came to managing squad players. We're not talking about squad players now, we are talking about top players. If you are a regular at Manchester United, I think you should grasp the opportunity to stay here and become part of the history."
Solskjaer believes Martial can operate as a No 9 or out wide but believes United's priority should be "to get Anthony facing forward".
The 'baby faced assassin', who is best remembered for his winner in the 1999 Champions League final, also says Marcus Rashford has "far more than I did in terms of his physical attributes" but hopes to provide "a little bit of the nous I had inside the box".
"I wasn't born with it," he explained. "I studied finishing, I studied goals, I studied movement. I worked on my mentality because that's key. You will always miss chances but you can't do anything about them once they've gone.
"It's always about the next chance. You have got to be one step ahead as a striker, to create that space you need. My first job here after I finished playing was as a forwards' coach. So I worked with Cristiano (Ronaldo), Wayne (Rooney), Danny Welbeck, (Carlos) Tevez was here. That was a good start for me.
"But my strength was putting the ball in the net and I am sure I can give these boys a little bit of detail into scoring goals. But in terms of talent and physical attributes, the strikers here have got loads more than I had."
