Manchester United are once again on the hunt for a manager who can lead the club back to true Premier League and European relevance.
In the wake of Ruben Amorim's tumultuous reign, the Red Devils will be searching for a permanent boss, but that hire is not expected to happen until the summer.
For the short term, United are seeking an interim manager to lead the club through the remainder of the 2025/26 season, before the managerial market opens up and the club can cast a much wider and more thorough net.
One candidate for interim boss is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, once a beloved player at Manchester United who was hired to manage the club in 2018. He led the side until his dismissal in 2021, performing admirably but unable to return United to the heights they so desire.
AllSportsPeople explains what happened in Solskjaer's previous reign, his viability as interim manager, and where he resides in the long-term hunt for a permanent boss.
MORE: Updated Man United team news and latest injury updates
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer record at Man United
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's record at Manchester United wasn't up to the high standards put forth by the historic club and its fans, but the numbers were overall quite solid.
He collected a 55% win rate across all competitions, including a mark of just over half his matches in the Premier League across 109 games managed. Sir Alex himself won around 65% of his league matches and achieved legendary status, so Solskjaer's mark isn't that cavernous in comparison.
The Norwegian also led the club to the semifinals of both the FA Cup and the League Cup in 2020, and brought them to the Europa League final in 2021.
| Competition | Games | W-D-L | Win % |
| Premier League | 109 | 56-29-24 | 51.4% |
| FA Cup | 14 | 10-1-3 | 71.4% |
| EFL Cup | 10 | 7-0-3 | 70% |
| UEFA Champions League | 14 | 6-1-7 | 42.9% |
| UEFA Europa League | 21 | 13-4-4 | 61.9% |
| TOTAL | 168 | 92-35-41 | 54.8% |
MORE: A full breakdown of all Manchester United managers since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson
Why was Solskjaer sacked by Man United?
Solskjaer had signed a three-year contract extension in July of 2021 as a reward for reaching the Europa League final and finishing second in the Premier League table the previous season, qualifying the Red Devils for Champions League play.
However, things then went downhill quite quickly. They lost to Swiss side Young Boys to start their Champions League campaign, and late September brought a run of poor results, including a humiliating 5-0 defeat to rivals Liverpool, their worst result against the Reds since 1925.
In November, a 2-0 defeat to local rivals Manchester City put him on the brink, and a 4-1 loss to Watford on November 20 sealed his fate, as Solskjaer was sacked with United sitting seventh in the Premier League table.
A factor in Solskjaer's demise was the re-signing of Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus. Even though the all-time great came forth with his trademark goalscoring prowess, the hard-running, transition-based team Solskjaer had built over the previous two seasons lost all its coherence.
Could Solskjaer be permanent Man United manager again?
It is unlikely that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would be named the next permanent Manchester United manager, but it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
If the Norwegian is named interim manager and then leads United on a strong run through the second half of the 2025/26 season, it's likely that he would get at least some consideration.
The United board would surely be hesitant to re-hire a manager that was sacked not long ago, but enough time has passed that they could conceivably spin a reasonable explanation.
Ultimately, while Solskjaer has been a fan favourite before, during, and after his managerial tenure, it would likely be too uninspiring a hire to be truly considered, but far stranger things have happened.
What happened to Solskjaer at Besiktas?
Solskjaer's tenure at Turkish club Besiktas is a dark mark on his resume, having gone sour so quickly after it started.
The Norwegian signed on in mid-January of 2025, putting pen to paper on an 18-month contract. The first third of that deal seemed positive enough, leading the club to a fourth-place finish in the Super Lig table as Galatasaray ran away with the title by a double-digit point margin.
The start of his first full season in charge, however, took an almost immediate nosedive. He oversaw Besiktas's exit from the Europa League in the qualifying phase, dropping to the Conference League where they were then beaten by Swiss minnows Lausanne-Sport. A nearly instant European exit proved terminal for Solskjaer, despite having played only one league match in the 2025/26 season.