Marc Skinner reacts to Chloe Kelly's Arsenal move | OneFootball

Manchester United were said to have had several bids rejected by City in a last minute attempt to sign England forward Chloe Kelly.

Deadline-day drama went down to the wire on Thursday night as Women's Super League (WSL) clubs United and Arsenal entered a final hour race to secure Kelly's signature. Despite reports suggesting that United had placed offers for both loan and permanent deals, Kelly is north-London bound for the remainder of the season.

United head coach Marc Skinner has since responded to the reports that United were chasing a deal, telling media his deadline-day was "pretty quiet to be honest".

"I'm really happy with the options that we have, the forward options we have," he said. "Chloe Kelly is an Arsenal player on loan from Manchester City, so really doesn't affect us now. We are solely focused on what we can achieve and the qualities we have. I think it's head down for us from now on."

United's January transfer window included little movement on the signings front, with the club's sole acquisition being goalkeeper Kayla Rendell from Southampton. As for departures, the club placed a keen focus on utilising the loan system, sending Jess Simpson (Bristol City), Emma Watson (Everton) and Lucy Newell (Blackburn Rovers) out for the remainder of the season.

"We have decided to build our team on young and highly talented people," added Skinner. "We've seen what's happened in the market and I don't think many teams are in that space [to spend money] to be honest," Skinner admitted. "It's not about downing tools and giving up, it's about actually finding your own way."

Chelsea are one of the club's to have spent big in the January transer window, having broken the world-record fee to sign American centre-back Naomi Girma. Skinner was adamant that United "are not in that space" to be showing such aggression in the market.

"Manchester United has a rich history at the whole club of developing young people and pushing young and hungry people into their team," he explained. "So for us, we we want to go down that route because we feel it can hopefully give us the edge, especially if they grow together.

"We want to push hard to try and win trophies, qualify for Champions League and push for league. So, we had to do it our own way. It's about at the right times, adding the right players into this to the younger group and also living off their energy. I want us to be a young, energetic team."