{"id":685210,"date":"2026-01-09T20:19:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T20:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/685210\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T20:19:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T20:19:16","slug":"ole-gunnar-solskjaer-nears-manchester-united-return-with-further-talks-planned-for-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/685210\/","title":{"rendered":"Ole Gunnar Solskjaer nears Manchester United return with further talks planned for weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is inching closer to a sensational return to Manchester United, talkSPORT understands.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Red Devils player and manager Solskjaer will meet with United’s hierarchy on Saturday to become United’s interim head coach for the rest of the season.<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/a><\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Solskjaer is set to take the wheel at Old Trafford for a second timeCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

As reported by talkSPORT earlier on Tuesday, Solskjaer has the support of several first-team players including captain Bruno Fernandes<\/a> and Harry Maguire<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is thought fellow club legends including Rio Ferdinand<\/a> and Gary Neville<\/a> have also thrown their backing behind their ex-teammate.<\/p>\n

The Norwegian fans’ favourite hopes that if he does well then he would be considered for the job full-time.<\/p>\n

As well as Solskjaer, Michael Carrick<\/a> and Ruud van Nistelrooy have both been sounded out about the interim role, with the former already holding face-to-face talks.<\/p>\n

Read more on football<\/p>\n

Carrick is open to the role and had a brief stint as caretaker after Solskjaer<\/a> was sacked in 2018 before going on to manage Middlesbrough.<\/p>\n

Although United insiders insist there are multiple candidates, talkSPORT understands Solskjaer is the favourite.<\/p>\n

talkSPORT also understands that Carrick is open to being Solskjaer’s assistant if the Norwegian beats him to the interim job.<\/p>\n

Darren Fletcher<\/a> currently holds the interim role but the club are looking for someone to take the job for the remainder of this season.<\/p>\n

Solskjaer first became interim boss after Jose Mourinho<\/a>‘s sacking in December 2018.<\/p>\n

\"Manchester<\/a><\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Fletcher is in charge for United’s trip to Turf MoorCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

The treble hero got the job permanently before the 2018\/19 season ended and was relieved of his duties in November 2021 as he gave a tearful exit interview<\/a> after his departure was announced.<\/p>\n

Fletcher was in charge for the club’s 2-2 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor on Wednesday night. <\/p>\n

The Scot, who will be assisted by former United teammate Jonny Evans<\/a> in the dugout, was also considered an option to remain in the role until the end of the season.<\/p>\n

He will also take charge of the side for United’s FA Cup tie against Brighton on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Solskjaer’s first match back at the Old Trafford dugout could be for their derby day showdown with Manchester City on January 17, live on talkSPORT.<\/p>\n

Amorim was sacked on Monday<\/a> less than 24 hours after he unleashed a shock attack on the club’s upper management in a press conference.<\/p>\n

\"Carrick<\/a><\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Carrick is interested in the job but United look set to appoint SolskjaerCredit: Getty\"United<\/a><\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

United have been forced into action after sacking Ruben AmorimCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

United chiefs will not rush into a decision and believe they will have a bigger pool to choose from if they wait until the summer to name a new full-time head coach.<\/p>\n

Those options include Oliver Glasner, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Roberto De Zerbi.<\/p>\n

Solskjaer’s Man United record<\/p>\n

You have to go back all the way to 1996 for Solskjaer’s first association with United as he joined from Norwegian side Molde. <\/p>\n

A stellar 11-year spell at Old Trafford saw the ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ win a plethora of trophies, including six Premier League titles and a Champions League. <\/p>\n

Solskjaer’s most vital contribution as a player saw him score a stoppage-time winner in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich to seal United an incredible treble.<\/p>\n

As mentioned, Solskjaer returned to United in December 2018 following Mourinho’s sacking as interim boss, however, an impressive run of results saw the club hand him the job on a permanent basis. <\/p>\n

\"Ole<\/a><\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

This goal will forever make Solskjaer a United legend<\/p>\n

In his first full season in charge, Solskjaer had to navigate some tough periods, but ultimately secured Champions League qualification.<\/p>\n

United came second in the 2020\/21 season, but results dropped off the following term, with Solskjaer losing his job after a 4-1 defeat at Watford in November 2021.<\/p>\n

What went wrong for Amorim?<\/p>\n

Amorim arrived at Old Trafford in October 2024 with a reputation as one of the most in-demand coaches in Europe.<\/p>\n

However, he lasted just 14 months in charge and accrued the worst win ratio (32 per cent) of any Man United manager in the Premier League<\/a> era.<\/p>\n

talkSPORT understands that Amorim’s public criticism of his players played a part in his sacking.<\/p>\n

His negative attitude towards academy players was also cause for concern.<\/p>\n

Another factor was his reluctance to move from his 3-4-2-1 formation.<\/p>\n

Read More on talkSPORT\"Manchester<\/a><\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Amorim has the worst win ratio of any Man United Premier League managerCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

It all came to a head when he had an angry exchange with United’s director of football Jason Wilcox folllowing a 1-1 draw with Wolves.<\/p>\n

His explosive press conference after the draw with Leeds was the final straw.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is inching closer to a sensational return to Manchester United, talkSPORT understands. Former Red Devils…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":685211,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,30567,2465,98,24465,99,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-685210","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-man-united","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-manchester-united","14":"tag-michael-carrick","15":"tag-ruben-amorim","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115866997273113197","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=685210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/685211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=685210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=685210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=685210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}