Premier League legend warns Man Utd off 'really strange' Ole Gunnar Solskjaer return

Martin Macdonald

• 10 Jan 2026 04:01 CST
• 4 min read

Nieuws

Alan Shearer reckons that Man Utd may be making a mistake in appointing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as manager again.

The Red Devils currently find themselves in an all-too-familiar situation as they are without a manager midway through the season, having sacked Ruben Amorim last week.

The Portuguese took over from the sacked Erik ten Hag last November and couldn't improve things, leading United to their worst ever Premier League finish of 15th. He was given a £200 million transfer kitty in the summer but the team has failed to reach the adequate level of performance in 2025/26.

He was ultimately sacked after a public outburst to the media following a match against Leeds.

Darren Fletcher is in interim charge Solskjaer is in talks to return until the end of the season.

Shearer believes Man Utd shouldn't bring the Norwegian in as he was also fired in his last spell at Old Trafford.

"I wasn't surprised at all that Amorim was sacked in the end. I think Ruben Amorim knew it was coming." the Premier League's record goalscorer told BetFair.

"He gave them no choice with his outburst after the Leeds game. In any walk of life, if you publicly criticise your boss, you know what’s going to happen. Once he did that, it was just a matter of time. I think he knew what he was doing, he knew the writing was on the wall and that rant was his way of trying to take other people down with him.

😳 "I came here to be the manager of Man Utd, not to be the coach, and every department - the scouting department, the sporting director - needs to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months, and then we move on."

The full clip of Ruben Amorim's outburst to end today's… pic.twitter.com/MHU47WBINc

— Stretford Paddock (@StretfordPaddck) January 4, 2026

"It would be a really strange appointment to go back to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. I understand Darren Fletcher or Michael Carrick, but I wouldn't understand going back to a guy the club have already sacked. I know Ole played for the club, has a great history and affinity there, and did well as an interim, but they sacked him for a reason.

"I totally understand Carrick or Fletcher to get them through to the end of the season. But it does seem like a recurring thing, and they have to be really careful. If the interim does well, they have to be really careful not to get stuck in that trap again. There will be big-name managers available in the summer - maybe Thomas Tuchel, depending on England's World Cup, maybe Carlo Ancelotti depending on Brazil.

"You stop the cycle by getting a really strong, big character in and letting him do the job. It’s no coincidence that the three clubs at the top - Villa, City, and Arsenal - are all basically run by their managers.

"They have directors of football, but they work in sync. That has to happen at Man United to get them anywhere near where they want to be."

Solskjaer didn't win a trophy as a manager at Man Utd but did lead the club to second in the Premier League in 2020/21.

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