Ole Gunnar Solskjaer dug Manchester United out of many deep holes by scoring late goals in his playing days at Old Trafford.
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And now it appears United are turning to the Norwegian to rescue them once again.
Multiple outlets are reporting that current Molde manager Solskjaer will be appointed as United’s interim boss until the end of the current season after Jose Mourinho was fired Tuesday.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is believed to be United’s first-choice target but the Red Devils believe there is no chance of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy allowing Pochettino to leave mid-season. Laurent Blanc is also said to be in the running for the interim position alongside Solskjaer.
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With Michael Carrick taking training for the next few days, United have said an interim boss will be appointed in the next 48 hours and lead them until the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
It is believed that will give executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward time to totally rebuild the soccer operations at the club, with Mourinho said to not want to work under a technical director or other recruitment chiefs.
Solskjaer, 45, has had two successful spells in Norway’s top-flight in charge of Molde (winning the league twice and the cup in his first spell) but his move to the Premier League with Cardiff City in 2014 didn’t end well as the Bluebirds were relegated as the former United star arrived for the final months of the season.
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Why would Solskjaer leave Molde for an interim role at United? Quite simply, he loves the club. He was the reserve team manager at United from 2008-11 and is hugely respected by everyone behind the scenes.
Nicknamed ‘the baby-faced assassin’ during his playing days due to his clinical finishing, Solskjaer is a fans favorite. He scored 126 goals in 366 games for United, many of which came after coming on as a sub late in games, and won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and a UEFA Champions League. He famously scored the winner in the UCL final for United against Bayern Munich in Barcelona in 1999.
Whoever takes over at United, it is all about creating a positive mood after the Mourinho era and trying to chip away at the current 11-point gap between themselves in sixth place and the top four.
The expectations for Solskjaer, or whoever takes charge for the rest of the season, are low and that could be a very attractive proposition as this group of players were clearly underperforming for Mourinho.
