Man United stars lose faith in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer; Antonio Conte in sight as successor

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is fighting to save his job as Manchester United manager, sources telling ESPN that the 48-year-old had already lost the faith of a significant number of his team even before Sunday’s 5-0 loss to Liverpool .

ESPN have also learned that the United hierarchy is aware that former Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte is set to return to the management of Old Trafford.

– Ogden: Solskjaer runs out of time at Man Utd
– Liverpool lose my darkest day in Utd – Solskjaer
– Man Utd 0-5 Liverpool: How social media reacted

Solskjaer, initially appointed as interim manager after Jose Mourinho’s sacking in December 2018, has now lost five of his last nine games and sources have said his support in the dressing room is largely limited to the core of UK players at United and to a small number. foreign players on the team.

Although sources said the atmosphere around the club was far from it, in the words of a source “as toxic as under Mourinho”, the loss to Liverpool cast an air of resignation around Old Trafford as to Solskjaer’s future as a manager.

ESPN have learned that Solskjaer’s inability to resolve the team’s defensive issues, his apparent “favoritism” of underperforming players and his reluctance to give opportunities to Jesse Lingard, Donny van de Beek and Nemanja Matic have led some players openly criticize the manager to his teammates while on international duty.

Sources also said the senior players were enraged by Solskjaer’s inability to impose his authority on United’s failed forwards.

A source cited the lack of understanding between Cristiano Ronaldo and Mason Greenwood as being due to Solskjaer and his inability to force the pair to bond more convincingly. The teammates have noticed that the pair rarely go to each other in attacking position and Ronaldo becomes visibly irritated by his young teammate’s decision to shoot rather than go scorer.

Although sources have said that Solskjaer was not an unpopular figure within the squad (unlike Mourinho and his predecessor, Louis van Gaal), it is believed that the former Molde manager does not have the experience, mentality and references of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel. .

Sources said the senior players wanted more tactical direction from Solskjaer and his coaches, but he was deemed to be lacking in this area.

Conte, who resigned as Inter coach after guiding the club to the Serie A title last season, is used to placing tactical demands on his teams and winning domestic titles with Juventus, Chelsea and Inter. CV.

Sources told ESPN that there has been a reluctance within United to look to Conte, who is seen in the game as an abrasive and demanding character, but there is also an awareness at Old Trafford that ‘He is the best option available if they were to find a replacement for Solskjaer.

Mauricio Pochettino is a long-term target for United, but the former Tottenham manager is now in charge of Paris Saint-Germain and, despite an unconvincing start to the season, is unlikely to be available anytime soon.