Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has held talks over a stunning return to manage Man Utd for the remainder of the season.
“You are my Solskjaer, my Ole Solskjaer, you make me happy, when skies are grey,” came from the away section at Turf Moor just minutes into Manchester United’s game against Burnley, a seal of approval from matchgoers ahead of a potential stunning managerial return for the Norwegian.
Imagine if someone had told you that when Ruben Amorim was appointed, he would last just 14 months and Solskjaer would be hired as his interim successor for the rest of the season. Football tends to surprise. It’s been a whirlwind week in Manchester following the sudden decision to sack Amorim, and it would be an incredible story if Solskjaer lands the interim gig.
United have spoken to Solskjaer and Michael Carrick about the interim job for the remainder of the campaign. The suggestion is that it might be Solskjaer or Carrick who gets the job – not the pair together. Carrick was United caretaker for three matches when Solskjaer was sacked in 2021. He won games against Villarreal and Arsenal, and drew against Chelsea, to leave the position with an undefeated record.
The former midfielder subsequently managed Middlesbrough. Carrick guided Boro to the play-offs in 2022/23, but he failed to secure a top six finish in successive campaigns and was sacked last June.
In August, Solskjaer was sacked by Besiktas after being knocked out of the Europa League and the Conference League play-off round, leaving the Turkish club with no European football. Carrick and Solskjaer would both be capable interims, however, as they have previous coaching experience with the club and would likely inspire an upturn in results by implementing a different system.
Solskjaer seems slightly ahead of Carrick in the minds of fans, though. The 52-year-old departed on good terms when he was sacked, despite being booed at Vicarage Road after his final game in charge, but there are pros and cons to his possible return, which must be considered by decision-makers.
The positives about Solskjaer’s potential return are that he is almost guaranteed to enjoy a new manager bounce (he won 14 from 19 games as interim in 2018/2019), he would improve morale and he would play a formation that would chime with the players.
The cons are that appointing Solskjaer is the kind of decision the previous regime would make, the end of the Norwegian’s tenure at United was brutal, and what happens if he does well as interim boss? Would they dare to give him the job on a permanent basis again? United are still well-positioned to secure European football, and Solskjaer could possibly steer the club back into the Champions League.
It would be difficult not to give Solskjaer the job on a permanent basis if he secured Champions League football. His position would be strengthened, and fans could be lulled into giving him another proper bite at the cherry.
United’s decision-making was influenced by fan pressure after the FA Cup final success in 2024, with Ineos deciding to extend Erik ten Hag’s contract despite the overwhelming evidence to sack him.
The pressure from fans, and Solskjaer’s allies in the media, would be even bigger to give him the job permanently if the Norwegian had a strong impact. The Ineos hierarchy has shown they are capable of making such errors of judgement, and they appear to take notice of external noise.
“If people can’t handle the Gary Nevilles or any other criticism, we need to change the club,” said Amorim during an explosive final press conference, suggesting that Jason Wilcox and co had been influenced by comments in the media, so just imagine what Neville would say if Solskjaer did well as interim.
The condition for Solskjaer’s potential return should be that he won’t be given the job permanently, regardless of what he achieves as interim. No elite club would hire Solskjaer on a permanent basis in 2026.
