Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is due to meet with Manchester United’s hierarchy on Saturday for discussions about the interim manager’s role. The club is seeking a temporary appointment following the end of Ruben Amorim’s 14-month tenure earlier this week.
Ruud van Nistelrooy and current caretaker Darren Fletcher were in the running, but now it seems Solskjaer and Michael Carrick are the frontrunners for the vacancy. Carrick, who previously worked as a first-team coach under Solskjaer and had a brief stint at the helm after his departure, met with United’s executives earlier this week.
According to the Press Association, Solskjaer will sit down with director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada on Saturday for further talks about the position. The treble-winning hero of 1999 has already once stepped in at United following the dismissal of a Portuguese coach, taking over after Jose Mourinho’s departure in December 2018.
Solskjaer was given the jb on a permanent basis in March 2019 and guided United to second place in the Premier League in the 2020/21 season. He also led the team to the Europa League final that same season before being leaving the club in November 2021. The former striker attended the funeral of Norwegian coaching legend Age Hareide in Molde on Thursday.
Solskjaer now finds himself competing with Carrick for the caretaker position until the end of the season. The 44-year-old ex-midfielder has reportedly already held discussions with Berrada and Wilcox and is without a job following his departure from Middlesbrough last summer, reports The Mirror.
United are keen to appoint a former player with ties to the club to guide them through the remainder of the 2025/26 season. Following this, they plan to undertake an extensive search for Amorim’s permanent replacement, with The Mirror reporting that Carlo Ancelotti, Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino are amongst those being considered – though Sir Alex Ferguson will play no part in the selection process.
Van Nistelrooy previously served as United’s interim manager in October and November 2024 but has been excluded from contention this time round. Speaking at a press conference before Sunday’s FA Cup third-round clash with Brighton, interim boss Fletcher indicated he isn’t currently viewed as a candidate for the role through to the season’s end.
“I’ve not, no,” Fletcher said when quizzed if he has held talks with Sir Jim Ratcliffe about his future. “I speak to Omar and Jason. That’s how the processes work. For me, I’ve been focusing on the job in hand, preparing the team for these two games.
“There’s been no thought or conversation about my future. Honestly, the people in Jason and Omar have given me full responsibility to take control of these two games, make my own decisions, lead the team, guide the team, prepare the team, and that’s what I’ve been doing.
“There’s been no conversation with anybody outside of those two people in higher-up positions in the club.”