Manchester United officially announced that Ruben Amorim has stepped down from his position as the club's manager, with Darren Fletcher named as the interim boss.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer held talks with Manchester United on Tuesday and has now emerged as the leading contender for the club’s interim manager position.
United plans to hold face-to-face talks with Solskjaer in the coming days to discuss the role, and will also arrange the same kind of meeting with former club midfielder Michael Carrick.
The Red Devils parted ways with Ruben Amorim on Monday, bringing the Portuguese coach’s 14-month tenure at Old Trafford to an end.
Former midfielder and current U18s manager Darren Fletcher will take charge of the team for Wednesday’s Premier League away game against Burnley, with Jonny Evans returning to the club to serve as assistant coach.
Solskjaer, who played alongside Fletcher during his playing days, is being considered by the club for the interim manager role until the end of the season. Other candidates include Ruud van Nistelrooy, who stepped in as caretaker manager last season following Erik ten Hag’s departure.
Carrick played for United from 2006 to 2018 and briefly took charge of the first team for three games after Solskjaer’s exit in 2021. He will also meet with United to discuss the interim manager position.
At present, United is seeking a solution where they first appoint an interim manager to lead the team until the end of the season, before conducting a full-scale search in the transfer market for a permanent manager for next season.
The club is fully backing Fletcher to manage at least two matches, while at the same time having initiated preliminary contact with several candidates including Solskjaer.
The Norwegian owns a property in Cheshire and is willing to step in to help the club he still deeply loves if the opportunity arises.
Solskjaer previously managed United from December 2018 to November 2021, initially taking over as interim manager following Mourinho’s departure.
During this period, he guided United to consecutive top-four finishes in the league for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s era, and led the team to the 2021 Europa League final, where they were eventually beaten by Villarreal in a penalty shootout.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, United’s best league finish has been second place, a feat achieved by Solskjaer in the 2020-21 season and also by Mourinho in the 2017-18 season.
Solskjaer has been out of work since leaving Besiktas last August. Prior to that, after taking charge of Besiktas in January, he led the team to a fourth-place finish in the Turkish Super League.
He previously managed Molde in Norway, leading the team to win the Norwegian top-flight title twice, in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Solskjaer took over Cardiff City in January 2014 but failed to prevent the team from finishing bottom of the Premier League and being relegated to the Championship. He left Cardiff City in September 2014 due to a poor start to the new season.
As a player, Solskjaer made over 200 appearances for United, winning six Premier League titles, and scored the winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final to help the club secure the Treble.
