Solskjaer: Manchester United's saviour is on loan from Molde
The United boss, who has sparked a revolution at Old Trafford, joined on loan from Molde and still doesn't know whether he will have to return at the end of the season.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the man with the permanent smile (in Norway, one front page headline read: "53 days of smiles") has changed Manchester United's fortunes beyond all expectations. Since he took on the job in December, United are unbeaten in the Premier League and oversaw an epic comeback in the Champions League last night as his players knocked PSG out of the competition to book their place in the quarter finals. It's all down to the Solskjaer effect - a coach who is technically, still on loan from Molde.
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Permanent post with United or back to Molde...
"It's a bit strange, you have to say. When they sacked Mourinho, we thought that Solskjaer might be one of the candidates for the United job, but we could never have imagined that Manchester United would ask us if we would loan him out", Molde General Director Oystein Neerland explained. "It's a difficult one for us because he's under contract until 2022, but then it's also a great opportunity for him".
The fixtures calendar in Norway (the league starts in March and ends in November) allowed Molde to help United out. "The agreement is for a loan until the end of the season, halfway through May and we are hoping he will be back with us by then", Neerland went on to add. The Norwegians hope Solskjaer can return to retake the reins for the final third of the season and make a challenge for the league title after ending five points behind Rosenborg in 2018.
United fans delighted with Solskjaer
That's bit of a dilemma for both clubs because the general feeling in Manchester is that the club should hand Solskjaer a full-time contract as the coach on a permanent basis. Ryan Giggs said as much after last night's events in Paris: "I think they have to give him the job. The work's he's doing is fantastic and he has a coaching team which understands the club".