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In his final season at Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored eleven goals, and won the Premier League title. Beforehand he had fought his way back from a three-year long injury nightmare, that only let go temporarily while he put on his last few shows for the Stretford End.

His contributions in that final season was a nice microcosm of his career. Most of his goals came as a substitute, and no one will ever forget his 3-0 comeback goal at Charlton in 2006, when the Norwegian took a bow in front of the away section during his celebration.

Now, Solskjaer has gone into coaching. After taking baby-steps as head of the United youth teams, he is enjoying success back home in Norway as manager of Molde – the team Sir Alex Ferguson bought him from. Despite finishing this season in a relatively disappointing sixth place, Solskjaer has guided Molde to their two first ever titles in the Norwegian Tippeligaen. This has added to his already respectable reputation around the continent, and several clubs are reportedly monitoring his situation.

The English football managerial merry-go-round is moving again – right on schedule. As certain as winter will follow autumn, as sure as the slightest hint of snow will shut England down, and as predictable as Gary Lineker describing Match of the Day as “cracking”, November is when managers start getting the sack. Middlesbrough drew first blood when Tony Mowbray was forced out the door at Riverside Stadium, and Crystal Palace soon after became manager-less when Ian Holloway stepped down. Simultaneously, Martin Jol must have had a scare after dropping into the relegation zone this weekend, but the Cottagers chose to put ex-United head coach Rene Muelensteen in charge of training sessions rather than eliminating the manager. It makes me wonder, will Solskjaer ever become a Premier League manager? And if he will, should he ever be in line to take over at Manchester United?

There is no secret that Solskjaer has had suitors in the Premier League already. Aston Villa gave him a call after Alex McLeish left Villa Park in the summer of 2012. The official reason why Solskjaer turned Villa down was because of family reasons. What reportedly happened however, was that the owner of Molde, Kjell Inge Rokke (notoriously recognised for moving Wimbledon FC to Milton Keynes in 2004) went bonkers when Solskjaer considered leaving his club, and, looking from the outside, guilt tripped Solskajer into staying at least another year. It is not a given that he would ever get the job over Paul Lambert, but there are suggestions Solskjaer will get the chance to manage in England soon.

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In fact, Ladbrokes had him as their odds-on favourite to take the helm at Middlesbrough before Aitor Karanka was given the job, and Fulham, the only club in the league with Norwegians in the squad (John Arne Riise and Brede Hangeland) considered the six-time Premier League champion. But would he be a good appointment?

There are still strides for Solskjaer to make before he is ready to become successful in the English top flight – something he has publicly expressed his desire to do several times. Although two consecutive titles in your first two years as manager is impressive, Tippeligaen is a different kind of animal to the Premier League. When Solskjaer arrived in 2011, Rosenborg had retained the title they won 13 consecutive seasons from 1992 to 2004, and Molde finished 11th. These two teams, however, are the only signs of consistency in Norway. Runners-up in Solskjaer’s first title-winning season, Tromso, were relegated on Saturday. In the same fashion, champions in 2008, Stabaek, struggled to hang on for three more seasons before they went down by a clear margin last year. If there is anything to learn about Solskjaer’s managerial ability from Tippeligaen, it is whether he can create a solid team, able to fight at the top consistently.

This season was affected by the loss of Magnus Wolf Eikrem, attacking focal point Davy Claude Angan, and Vegard Forren’s unsuccessful spell at Southampton, before he came back when the transfer window opened. Molde did make some useful signings in an attempt to acquire replacements, but still, Solskjaer only managed to finish sixth. The entire Tippeliga is a selling league, so consistent success is difficult, yet you would expect the Baby-faced Assassin to do better. The biggest of his career so far will be to see if he can win the title back again next season.

But Solskjaer does have some core values that the United board and fans value highly. His record of 28 goals as a substitute is a sentiment to his unique mindset. Nothing and no one is bigger than the team, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer simply felt privileged to play for Manchester United. His will to come on as a sub and put on a match winning performance is in many ways what defined Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson. Such a mindset is likely to be a hit among Red Devils supporters, and Solskjaer has a healthy attitude to football, which is rubbing off on his players already.

Furthermore, Solskjaer wants to develop his own talents, and tries hard to bring youngsters through the ranks at Molde. Wolf Eikrem, now at Herenveen, and Mads Moeller Daehli are examples of former United U18 players who Solskjaer has nurtured through first team experiences. Both are now Norwegian internationals, and Daehli has been compared to Paul Scholes by the manager. So Solskjaer certainly ticks a few boxes already, but I am sure he too agrees that he needs more time to become a top European manager.

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The Manchester United hot-seat is of course occupied for the foreseeable future, and David Moyes will surely be given a proper go before any changes are considered at Old Trafford. But If Solskjaer continues his development in management, there is no obvious reason why he shouldn’t be in line to take over after Moyes. And the fans, who still keep the ‘2OLEgend’ banner at its designated spot in the Stretford End, will  love to see their Baby-faced Assassin at the helm.

Will Solskjaer ever be good enough to take over at Old Trafford?

Have your say below

Martin O’Neill is considering punishing his Republic of Ireland international James McClean after his foul-mouthed tweet criticising his international manager.

The two are set for discussions today after McClean’s public criticism of Giovanni Trapattoni’s selection policy.

McClean has spoke over the phone to his club side manager but will discuss the matter further with the Ulsterman today when the Sunderland first team reconvene after the international break.

O’Neill said: “It did happen out there. That’s not absolving ourselves of responsibility, but it was on international duty and he did phone me to apologise.

“We’ll have some discussions with him, but I can’t really say about disciplining him until he gets back here.”

It is not the first time the 23 year old has been in trouble regarding the social network site, the ex Derry City midfielder received death threats after mocking Northern Ireland fans on Twitter.

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Now McClean is set to take a permanent break from tweeting to concentrate on his football, Sunderland’s boss added, “I think he has to learn. He wouldn’t be the first player to be disappointed to be left out of a team.

“This time last year James wasn’t under consideration for anything. It’s been a great rise and now he just has to settle down, which I think he will do.”

According to the Manchester Evening News, Paris Saint-Germain will attempt to beat Manchester United to the signature of Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred this summer.

What’s the story?

It is not exactly a secret that Fred is expected to move on from Shakhtar in this summer’s transfer window, and a number of clubs are interested in signing the midfielder.

Manchester City and Liverpool have previously been linked, but it had been thought that United had taken the lead in the race to acquire the Brazilian’s services.

However, according to the Manchester Evening News, free-spending Ligue 1 outfit PSG will provide stiff competition for the 25-year-old’s signature ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

It is understood that Fred has a £53m release clause in his current contract, and Ukrainian giants Shakhtar will reportedly hold out for that figure due to the interest surrounding a player that has been included in the Brazil squad for the 2018 World Cup.

Just how good is he?

The answer is very good, and potentially sensational. The midfielder started his professional career with Internacional before switching to Shakhtar in the summer of 2013.

Fred has made over 150 appearances during his time in Ukraine, and has been in fine form this season – scoring four times and registering seven assists in 37 appearances.

Standing at little over 5ft 6inches, Fred is not exactly the most physically-imposing footballer in the world, but there are simply no doubting his qualities on the ball.

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The midfielder, who is valued at £28.8m by transfermarkt.co.uk, also possesses an incredible ability to get around the pitch, and would be perfect to slot in alongside Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic at United next season.

PSG are also in the hunt for a new central midfielder, however, and it is not a surprise that they have reportedly expressed an interest in the seven-time Brazil international.

Manchester United slipped into third place in the English Premier League on Saturday after a disappointing stalemate at home to Southampton.

The 0-0 result means Chelsea have now leapfrogged Jose Mourinho’s side heading into 2018, with supporters beginning to ask serious questions of the direction the Red Devils are heading in.

Fans were frustrated with the draw, but the general performance irked them even more, believing that their big stars should be offering far more for home supporters against a Southampton side that have struggled at times this season.

Paul Pogba was one of those that received some of the sharpest criticism after a particularly ineffective display, failing to show the ambition or form that makes him a stand out in the final third.

Supporters are now questioning his leadership abilities and are looking for more dynamic performances going forward. Many believe he has the talent but that it’s his attitude and mentality that is letting him down.

They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his performance…

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With the furore that has been every lasting throughout the past month regarding Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, and his potential move to Premier League rivals Chelsea, perhaps it was inevitable that something like this would happen. It has emerged that the talented English attacker has sustained a damaged shoulder and as a result he will not travel with the squad to Sweden to partake in their friendly game against AIK.

Now, obviously Twitter is a place where perhaps the cynics get to say what they feel, and as expected there were some fantastic responses to the breaking news. Whether there genuinely is a problem with the want-away striker, or indeed it is a protest to try and force a move it will never be fully known.

What is evident however, is the opinion that Twitter has. Check out below just a few of the numerous responses that the social media site had to offer.

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Spurs supporters have had a somewhat turbulent summer so far. At times, fans seem to have been left with more questions than answers as the Andre Villas-Boas led revolution appeared to have come to a grinding halt in the transfer window. The recent sale of Luka Modric to Real Madrid looks set to catalyze a dramatic, late splurge of cash- but there has been one element of the Croatian’s deal to Los Merengues that has left some scratching their heads.

Modric’s transfer saga became something of a bludgeoning affair for Spurs supremo Daniel Levy and co this summer. There was always a simmering realisation that the club was in all likeliness, resigned to losing the services of the talented Croatian. Quite how this was set to play out, however, was a different story.

Levy had set his stall out last season with the knocking back of a quite staggering £40million offer from Chelsea on deadline day. And to some extent, that figure seemed to affect the rules of engagement this time round. Some reports suggest that the now infamous offer from Stamford Bridge was in fact £30million in cash and the £10million-rated central-defender, Alex. Harry Redknapp said at the time: ‘”The chairman stood firm. I think £40m was apparently offered.” Redknapp, however, has said many things from the window of his Range Rover; his word should hardly be taken as gospel.

But whether it was or wasn’t a purely cash deal, the figure of £40million became something of a watermark over the Luka Modric transfer and this seemed to become a real problem for Levy. The Essex-born businessman seemed desperate to hold out for that marquee figure, but the transfer window can be a cruel mistress and his hand was eventually forced. There is no shame in selling at a lower price, either.

Many like to point to the fact Modric was tied to a long-term contract at the club, but that doesn’t paint the entire picture. Paris Saint Germain’s retraction of a reported £40million bid left Real Madrid as the only, seriously interested party and they knew Spurs had to sell. Yes, theoretically he could have stayed, but Modric’s time was up at White Hart Lane. Having already spat his dummy out by not going on Spurs’ pre-season tour to the United States, there was a real risk of him causing dressing room disharmony- something the new manager and the new set-up simply did not need.

The club did not need a season with a player who desperately did not want to be there and even though it’s impossible to tell how the White Hart Lane faithful would react, he certainly left a proportion of the Tottenham support upset with his behaviour. Modric getting booed would have been hugely disheartening for the team, whatever way you look at it.

It wasn’t ideal but it’s difficult to buy into this notion that Levy has been ‘mugged off,’ somewhere in this deal. Last season, he did what was right for the club. Modric arguably owed the club another year, the chairman didn’t want to sell to a Premier League rival and it ultimately paid dividends. The facts are, Tottenham finished fourth and Chelsea sixth. Transfers are a highly reactive process and Spurs did well to get what they did.

The most recent reports suggest that Tottenham will receive an initial €30million up front and another €8million in performance-related add-ons. At the current exchange rate, that’s about £23.8million up front, potentially rising to £30million (there or there abouts).  But that’s not all Tottenham seemed to get out of the deal.

Curiously, the club’s official announcement on the transfer denoted a “partnership agreement” had been reached with Real Madrid, alongside Modric’s transfer. Another Levy masterstroke? Or an act of saving face?

The official line from the club was :

The partnership agreement will see the two Clubs working together in respect of players, coaching, best practices and commercial relationships.

At first glance, the most glaringly concerning assumption you can make from that, is that Madrid will end up getting first-dibs on Gareth Bale, should he depart from N17. But it’s all very well reading in between the lines. Support for the chairman has sometimes been perhaps too unnerving, but Levy is no fool and he wouldn’t agree to anything unless it was overwhelmingly beneficial to the club. In a business sense anyway.

The latest line out of this is that Real Madrid will agree to play two exhibition games against Spurs. If we firstly go with the global brand shtick that plays such a prominent part in football, it is doing the club no harm whatsoever playing against one of the biggest clubs in the world. There are already whispers that Spurs v Madrid tie at White Hart Lane could offer a glorious testimonial for the recently retired Ledley King. No one is going to argue with that. Both friendlies would be highly lucrative for the club.

The commercial opportunities that could arise out of this may also be beneficial to Spurs. It’s difficult at this moment to pinpoint exactly how the club may come into fiscal benefits from the deal, but Real Madrid are one of the biggest brands in football. Any links to the marketing juggernaut that is Santiago Bernabeu based club, surely can’t harm Spurs in their quest to find a lucrative naming rights partner for their new stadium. They need all the help they can get.

A sporting connection certainly isn’t going to harm the club either. Spurs are hardly in direct competition with Madrid for European glory and whilst many begrudge the notion of loaning a player at a club like Spurs, it’s a little bit different when you’re dealing with Real Madrid. The club has been mooted to get first refusal on certain players and loan deals. Considering they recently allowed a player of the quality of Nuri Sahin to temporarily seek pastures new at Liverpool, Spurs could do well out of Madrid in the coming seasons.

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But also the coaching element of the deal can be of huge benefit to Tottenham. If the club are able to send some of their youth products off to Madrid for a coaching camp or even a longer, more competitive spell, then that is only going to benefit the club. We’ve seen on an international level the benefits of Spanish players immersing themselves in a different league. If Tottenham can get their kids the experience of playing in some Madrid based set-up, it could hugely enhance their development.

We will have to wait and see to see how this deal really plays out for Spurs in the long run, but while Daniel Levy has come in for some stick recently, he’s played the best hand he possibly could for Spurs here. It remains to been seen however whether this deal really will be impactful for the club or whether it is simply saving face.

How do you view Spurs’ shiny new Madrid based agreement? Can it benefit or the club or are you not reading much into it? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and tweet me your views.

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Hector Bellerin has told Arsenal that he wants to remain at the club beyond the summer, according to Sky Sports. 

That is a major boost for whoever the club’s new manager is because he has enough to sort out at the Emirates without worrying about replacing one of the few promising players in the current setup.

What’s the story, then?

The report states that Bellerin – who is valued at £36m by Transfermarkt – wants to remain at the Emirates Stadium next season as he is happy at the club.

He says he will definitely be at the club next season, despite the fact that the identity of Arsene Wenger’s successor is still unknown and that the club faces a second straight season in the Europa League.

It goes on to say that Bellerin is settled in London and that he believes that the future is so bright at the club that they will challenge again for the title.

Bellerin’s words help the new manager

Bellerin’s progression has undoubtedly stalled in the last season or so but he is a hugely promising young right-back and there are other positions in which Arsenal’s new boss will need to make alternations or invest this summer.

After the departure of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, it is also another promising sign that developing players still want to remain at the Emirates, feeling they can improve and compete for trophies there.

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Also, the new manager will not want to face an exodus so the commitment of a popular player is a real plus point for him before he even arrives.

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This week it emerged that Manchester United winger Nani has joined Turkish club Fenerbahce for a reported £4.25million fee on a three-year deal, ending his eight-year stay at the Lancashire club. On signing back in 2007, he was viewed as a player with great potential, but he departs simply with a feeling of unfulfilled promise.

Breaking into the Sporting CP team at 18, he settled in well, scoring 11 goals in 76 appearances in all competitions before leaving after two seasons for Old Trafford. Upon joining United, he praised the league: “The Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world and it will be a big challenge. I am prepared to go to England because I believe I will progress there.”

Arriving with much fanfare for a fee between £14 million and £17.85 million, alongside Brazilian midfielder Anderson, he appeared light and skinny, but with bursts of acceleration and skilful touches. Resembling a Cristiano Ronaldo light version he admitted it would be a ‘dream’ to play with his compatriot.

It was the same selfishness, ignoring of team-mates and prima-donna antics which made it nigh on impossible for him to endear himself to the home fans. This was made more frustrating by his failure to learn from his compatriot’s same difficult times at United only a couple years earlier. He had the talent to showboat, and even embarrass fellow professionals – which drew Arsene Wenger’s anger after he humiliated Arsenal full-back Gavin Hoyte in an FA Cup 5th round tie in 2008.

Getting regular playing time, he was often called up for the Portuguese national team, cementing his place in the Euro 2008 squad. After making three appearances in the tournament, he was courted by Barcelona with the Catalan club receiving a resounding ‘hands off’ from Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 for a then record £80 million fee. It was time for understudy Nani to step out of big brother’s shadow. He had previous stated lofty ambitions of being the best in the world, but he was struggling to step up into the hole left by Cristiano in the 2009/10 season. His big issue seemed to be his lack of footballing brain, often looking selfish and leaving team-mates frustrated at his short sightedness.

It wasn’t until the season afterwards that Nani’s potential started turning kinetic with match winning performances becoming regular. Finishing the 2010/11 season with 10 goals and 18 assists, the skinny winger was taking responsibility, helping Manchester United win the Premier League title. Voted Players’ Player of the year at Man Utd’s club awards in 2011 he was still omitted from the Champions League final starting XI against Barcelona, showing Ferguson’s continued distrust of Nani’s tactical discipline.

Another good season followed before injuries disrupted much of his 2012/13 campaign. Offered a massive five-year contract in Summer 2013, his last meaningful act in a United shirt was in the 2-1 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid – getting sent off for a dubious high-footed challenge on Alvaro Arbeloa.

Going out on loan last season to former club Sporting Lisbon, the Portuguese winger hit form again, looking like he’d found his level to excel. Having not hit his predicted heights, he needs to play at the level where his status is clearly numero-uno so he is the fulcrum of the team. He will not dance to anyone else’s tune.

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Lacking the mentality to perform beyond himself and push his ability to the pinnacle of his potential, many Manchester United fans will not be sad to see him leave, with only a smattering of star performances to remember him by.

He may not have been anywhere near as big of a success as Cristiano Ronaldo but he can safely say he was more of a hit than Anderson.

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West Brom will not pay over the odds in the transfer window, Steve Clarke has warned rivals clubs as he searches for new blood.

The Baggies boss is keen to bolster his squad during the summer months as he wants to build on last season’s impressive eighth-placed finish in the Premier League.

And, despite having a £48.3million prize money windfall in the bank from this past season’s achievements, Clarke is adamant that the club will not deviate from their usual practices in the transfer market and that means not being held to ransom by selling clubs.

Clarke told the club’s website: “The club will continue to operate in the same way as it has over the past few years.

“The strategy will be similar to before which will probably be one big signing. We know the amount of players that the chairman likes to have in the squad so we will work on sticking to that.

“And like at most clubs, there will be three or four coming in and about the same going out.”

Albion are keen to bring Romelu Lukaku back to the Hawthorns from Chelsea following a successful season-long loan, but the striker admitted that he would be interested in joining German Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund.

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On the outgoing side, Jerome Thomas and Gonzalo Jara Reyes have already departed, while Peter Odemwingie is also set to get his wish to leave although he will not be allowed to go unless a club meets their valuation.

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According to The Guardian, Everton are hopeful of being able to convince Paris Saint-Germain defender Yuri Berchiche to move to the Premier League at the end of the season.

What’s the story?

Everton are expected to be busy in this summer’s transfer window as they look to close the gap on the top six in the Premier League during the 2018-19 campaign.

A number of players have been linked with the Toffees in recent weeks, and according to The Guardian, PSG full-back Berchiche is very much on the club’s wish-list.

The 28-year-old is said to be considering his future in Paris, and La Liga duo Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao are both believed to be admirers.

According to transfermarkt.co.uk, Berchiche is valued at £15.3m, and there is no question that Everton would be interested at that price.

Would Berchiche fit in at Everton?

Leighton Baines is certainly not getting any younger, and Everton do not exactly have a wealth of options when it comes to the left-back position, which has been an issue with the club’s fans.

Berchiche joined PSG on a free transfer from Real Sociedad last summer, and the Spaniard has scored twice and provided five assists in 29 appearances for his French club this season.

The defender is a full-back capable of both attacking and defending to a high standard, and actually started his professional career with Tottenham Hotspur, which included a loan spell at Cheltenham Town back in 2009.

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The former Spain Under-17 international has come a long way since then, and has more than held his own at PSG during the 2017-18 campaign.

Everton will face competition from a number of clubs if they wish to sign Berchiche this summer, but it could turn out to be a very smart piece of business from the Toffees if they manage to pull it off.