Ole Gunnar Solskjaer odds-on to leave Man Utd before the end of the season

The powers that be at Man Utd backed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in abundance during the summer.

Not only did they present the boss with a brand spanking new contract, which he gleefully signed, but they provided him with the funds to recruit a hat-trick of superstar players in the transfer market.

Then this week his assistant Mike Phelan penned a new contract at Old Trafford, further highlighting the club’s faith in their Norwegian incumbent, who has now overseen more matches at United (161) than David Moyes (51) and Louis van Gaal (103) combined.

Yet many fans have been left frustrated and concerned following a patchy pocket of form during which United have failed to fully convince ahead of a difficult, and potentially season-defining, run of matches.

Solskjaer heads into October’s international break priced at just 5/1 to become the second top-flight casualty of the season, following the exit of poor Xisco Munoz, who was sacked by Watford on Sunday. Of course it was Watford.

Solskjaer’s managerial credentials and United’s title ambitions will be tested over the course of the next two months when they face a crunch stretch of league games against Leicester, Liverpool, Tottenham, Man City, Chelsea, and Arsenal, plus pivotal back-to-back Champions League matches against Atalanta followed by Villarreal in Spain.

With that in mind, Solskjaer could be worth considering at 9/1 (Paddy Power) to be gone before November.

He can also now be backed at odds-on, just 8/15 (Paddy Power), to leave Man Utd before the last game of the season, and is 13/8 to exit before Christmas.

There’s not much to panic about when viewing the Premier League table. Man Utd are finely placed in fourth after seven games, they are level on points with Man City, one point behind Liverpool, and a further point behind early pacesetters Chelsea.

However, United have undoubtedly had the more favourable fixtures of the four ‘title contenders’, and two points out of a possible nine from games with Southampton, Aston Villa, and Everton represents a disappointing return against sides they should expect to beat. 

Let’s not forget that United were also dumped out of the League Cup, lost to Young Boys in the Champions League, and they were extremely fortunate to snatch a victory at home to Villarreal.

Unlike his managerial rivals, there remain very valid concerns over Solskjaer’s failure to cement a clear identity upon his side, as noted by Gary Neville:

“Something has got to change and I think Ole is going to have to pick a team that plays in the league,” he said after the Everton draw. 

“When I’ve seen Jose Mourinho or Sir Alex Ferguson trying to form teams, they keep a settle XI as much as possible and let that team build. Ole at the moment is rotating like Sir Alex used to because he’s got access to so many players.

“He’s picking a new team every game and that has to stop now. I hope the international break is a time for Ole amd his coaches to reflect. He has to pick a way of playing, select a team and let that team build an identity, a style, because that’s the only thing I can suggest right now. The style and identity isn’t there.”

If the club do decide to make a managerial change then it’s PSG’s Mauricio Pochettino who is the 10/3 favourite in the next Man Utd manager odds, ahead of Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers (4/1), then the out-of-work duo of Antonio Conte (5/1) and Zinedine Zidane (12/1).

Solskjaer appears safe for now, but he will be all too aware that performances need to improve given the immense talent that’s nestled within his squad. The attacking riches in particular are incredible.

For those of you who have full faith in Solskjaer, Paddy Power have the 48-year-old available at 6/4 to still be Man Utd manager for the first game of the 2022/23 season, 4/1 for the 2023/24 season, and 12/1 for the 2024/25 season.

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