Manchester United are reportedly looking toParis Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel as a potential replacement for OleGunnar Solskjaer.
The United legend had a huge impact on resultswhen he was brought in after Jose Mourinho was fired last season but he couldnot maintain the good run and United ended up finishing the campaign out of thetop four. Things have hardly improved this term, although the team won theirlast two games, and the Daily Mail is claiming that the OldTrafford club will hand the Norweigian his marching orders if he can’t inspireimprovement.
Solskjaer oversaw a 4-0 win over Chelsea tostart the current campaign but draws to Wolverhampton Wanderers andSouthampton, plus a loss to Crystal Palace, put him under fire ahead of the tworesults prior to this latest loss to West Ham.
It is believed that the manager’s days at theclub will be numbered if he cannot fashion consistent victories and United arenow keeping tabs on Tuchel, who is being eyed as the perfect replacement. The Germancoach led PSG to the Ligue 1 title last season but it could be argued that hewas never really at a disadvantage given the formidable squad he has at hisdisposal.
Of course, the 46-year-old proved himself atBVB Borussia Dortmund, where he really rose to prominence after spells atAugsburg and Mainz.
Tuchel is contracted to the French outfituntil 2021 and there’s no indication he’d be willing to give up ChampionsLeague football to join the Premier League side, but the English tabloids arereporting as much.
Solskjaer will be put through a tough run ofmatches and will have to face Arsenal and Liverpool pretty soon, with a datewith the former set for September 30. His future could depend on the results ofthese fixtures and it’s possible we see a new boss take up the reins at OldTrafford before the turn of the year.
Fans who fancy a punt on coaches’ futurescould find manager special odds at OddsManager and Solskjaer seems the perfect candidate for such bets at the moment.Meanwhile, William Hill are offering 23/20 on Man Utd beating Arsenal at theend of this month. The Gunners are 11/5 to win what could be a thrillingencounter while a draw is at 27/10.
The bookmakers are also offering 4/7 odds onboth teams scoring and 13/10 on a negative in that regard.
As for their chances of lifting the PremierLeague title, those are pretty slim. United are 100/1 to pull off what would bean upset, even for a club of their standards, with Bet365. Manchester Cityremain the favourites after winning the league the last two seasons and Skybethave them at 8/11 to do so this term. Liverpool are 7/5 with Betfair whileTottenham are at 50/1 with Betvictor. Chelsea have been attached to 100/1 oddsby Paddy Power.
Solskjaer will hope to improve his side’sperformances as soon as is possible but he should be concerned by MarcusRashford’s form in front of goal. The youngster has scored three times so farthis season but didn’t appear to be very sharp when United beat Astana in theEuropa League on Thursday as he missed multiple chances to hand fans more thana 1-0 scoreline. His performance against the Hammers on Sunday also stood outfor criticism.
One positive coming from the side in recenttimes is their agreeing a new deal withshot-stopper David de Gea. But that will mean very little if they can’t improveon their consistency.
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