BREAKING NEWS: I’m not coming because of anybody but because of this particular Manager,He knows How to bring out the best in me,if not Man united have really betrayed me in the past”, Marcus Rashford confirmed His Old Trafford return by next week
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has emerged as the favourite to take charge of Manchester United from Darren Fletcher until the end of this season after Ruben Amorim’s sacking. A return to Old Trafford could come mere months after Marcus Rashford spoke highly of his first stint at the club.
The Norwegian, who has been without a club since his Besiktas sacking last year, is said to be one of the frontrunners alongside Michael Carrick and Ruud van Nistelrooy to take over on a caretaker basis, with the club deciding to wait until the summer to appoint a new permanent boss.
Solskjaer is now the favourite with some bookmakers to be given the nod and knows the club inside out, having spent 11 years of his playing career at Old Trafford before managing the team for three years between 2018 and 2021. He still has a strong bond with a number of United players and recently spoke glowingly about Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire.
Rashford, who is currently on loan at Barcelona from United, was also left with a high impression of Solskjaer, having enjoyed some of his best football under the club icon. The forward told the Danish television station TV2 in October last year: “Ole is a fantastic person. I loved playing under him. I can speak for many of the players at Manchester United when I say that we enjoyed playing for him. We played good football under Ole.
“It was a very successful period for me personally. He is a fantastic person, and I don’t have a bad word to say about him.”
Rashford also said he talks to Solskjaer “from time to time”. However, he conceded that “it’s been a while now” since they last spoke.
The forward played more and scored more under him than any other United coach. Rashford had 55 goals and 36 assists across 135 matches.
Out of Erik ten Hag, Mourinho and Solskjaer, the academy graduate also managed his best minutes per goal while working with the latter. He averaged a goal every 182 minutes, compared to one every 199 for Ten Hag and every 251 under Mourinho.
Solskjaer took caretaker charge of United after they sacked Mourinho in December 2018, before being appointed as their permanent manager three months later. His tenure lasted just under three years in total, with Michael Carrick and then Ralf Rangnick taking interim charge before Ten Hag eventually took over.
Marcus Rashford and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer got the best out of Marcus Rashford at Man United(Image: Getty)
Solskjaer spoke about Rashford during an appearance on The Rest is Football in November. He said: “I’ve not spoken to Marcus since I left. I text him a little bit, but circumstances.
“I don’t know what’s happened in his life, but you can see he’s certainly enjoying it now in Barcelona. It looked like he didn’t enjoy himself here. I don’t think that’s just Man United [not enjoying it], it’s everywhere.
“All the pressures, every single one is different, we don’t know what’s happened to the players when they walk in in the morning, grumpy, that’s the manager’s job: ‘What’s up? I can see something’s wrong.’
“We don’t know what’s happened, we just want him to do well. He’s an incredible player when he’s in form and happy; he’s got that energy. I go back to Erling Haaland, just the energy that he shows all the time, when he’s on the pitch, he shows that enthusiasm and energy, that’s the least.
“But what is it? Life? Too many games? We don’t know, but he’s found the right balance.”
