*Undated
Manchester United are considering sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as manager.
The club hierarchy is giving serious consideration to dismissing Solskjaer before United's next game at Tottenham on Saturday.
United players are understood to have been kept inside Old Trafford for two hours after the final whistle of the 5-0 humiliation by Liverpool on Sunday. United have suffered five defeats in their last nine games and are without a win in their last four Premier League matches. Sunday's 5-0 thrashing by Liverpool was United's worst ever home defeat to their biggest rivals.
Antonio Conte would be open to discussing taking over at Manchester United if Ole Gunnar Solskjær were sacked, while it emerged on Monday that several players are questioning whether the Norwegian can take the team any further. The 48-year-old is considered tactically underwhelming, while being well-liked by the squad and within the wider club.
The managing director, Richard Arnold, is understood to have cancelled all appointments on Monday to hold talks with club owner Joel Glazer. Although the Italian is reluctant to take up a position during a season, he would make an exception for United because he considers the club a special opportunity. The 52-year-old would want to understand United’s vision before committing.
Conte has been out of work since leaving Internazionale in May, having signed off his two seasons there with the Serie A title, the fourth in Italy of his career. Conte also claimed the Premier League in his opening campaign at Chelsea in 2016-17 and the FA Cup the following year. Solskjær said after the Liverpool game that United had hit “rock bottom” on what he described as his “darkest day” with the team but insisted he would not quit. “I do believe in myself, I do believe that I am getting close to what I want with the club,” he said.
United's defender Luke Shaw admitted such a result had been on the cards when it was put to him that players looked lost at times and he was asked whether that was on Solskjær. “I think it’s ourselves that we need to look at, first and foremost, in the mirror,” he said. Solskjaer is into his third full season in charge and, after heavy investment in the summer, needs to deliver a trophy.Thus far though he has been unable to make United the sum of their parts and some are calling for a new face.
If those on the red half of Manchester do decide to make a change it won't come cheap. For starters, Solskjaer was only handed a new deal earlier this year, so axing him will require a pay off.
Conte will also be offering little leeway in negotiations, with reports citing he is unlikely to lower his wage demands. Solskjaer is believed to earn around £7m a year as United boss. If Conte's Inter salary is anything to go by then he will be seeking around €12m net per annum. His wages at the San Siro were believed to be nearly five times as much as the next highest-paid coach in Serie A.