Ben Guest
It is the story of the day, and maybe even the story of the season so far, but Manchester United’s decision to sack Jose Mourinho has understandably been dominating the headlines.
The Portuguese was relieved of his duties this morning after guiding Manchester United to sixth in the Premier League table, with the Old Trafford outfit being left 19 points behind league leaders Liverpool after the 3-1 defeat at Anfield on Sunday.
As is always the case when a manager is sacked, attentions quickly turn to who will replace him. United have announced that they will appoint a caretaker manager to see the club through to the end of the season before making a permanent appointment in the summer.
Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane are the hot favourites with the bookmakers to be the man to get the job on a permanent basis, but there has been a number of names floating around regarding who could be the man to take temporary charge of the club.
While Michael Carrick has taken charge of first-team training today alongside fellow coach Kieran McKenna, the former midfielder is reportedly not being considered to become the caretaker boss, and the appointment will be an external one.
Former United defender Laurent Blanc has also been mentioned, but in a surprise development, it looks as though club legend Ole Gunnar Solkjaer could be the man to step into the Old Trafford hot seat.
Solskjaer, who of course scored that injury-time winner in the 1999 Champions League final, is currently the manager of Norwegian side Molde, where he steered his side to the title in 2011 and 2012 as well as the Norwegian cup in 2013.
He did cut his teeth in the Premier League as a manager with Cardiff City, but his time in the Welsh capital didn’t go particularly well, and he couldn’t prevent their relegation to the Championship.
However, in a unexpected development today, there are widespread reports that he could be set to return to the club for which he scored 126 goals, and could be flanked by former Manchester United assistant manager, Mike Phelan.