Ed Woodward will announce a caretaking manager on Thursday. It seems this Norway player is favourite to land the job.
Manchester United have sacked manager Jose Mourinho after identifying a catalogue of his failings at the club. The Portuguese, 55, took over in May 2016 and led United to League Cup and Europa League titles. But they are 19 points behind league leaders Liverpool this season. The club have made a change after no progress with results or style despite spending nearly £400m on 11 players. They also say the new manager will understand the philosophy of the club, including their attacking traditions. It seems the club is keen to give the job to this former Manchester United player at the Old Trafford as the next manager.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is a leading candidate at Manchester United to succeed Jose Mourinho as manager on a temporary basis until the end of the season. The former United striker is currently manager of Molde in Norway. He is in his second spell in charge and were he to come back to United than his first game in charge would be against former club Cardiff City. Solskjaer, 45, had a lackluster eight months at Cardiff in 2014 where he was unsuccessful in his attempts to save the club from relegation to the Championship and was sacked in September.
Solskjaer signed a new contract this month at Molde until December 2021. Molde finished in second place for the second successive year this season. It is unclear what that will mean for his chances of being appointed at United. given that the club will be reviewing the position in the summer. The season in Norway runs from March to November. And Molde’s second place means they are in the Europa League qualifiers next August. Solskjaer’s place in United’s folklore is well-established. He was a hugely popular goalscorer who got the last-minute winner in the 1999 Champions League final.
Author’s take:
Solskjaer might not be a perfect choice. Given his unsuccessful time in England with Cardiff, he shouldn’t be the first choice. The Red Devils should be patient and should take time on how should be charge at Old Trafford.