ESPN FC pundit Steve Nicol believes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in danger of being sacked next season after being underwhelmed with Manchester United’s transfer activity so far.
The Red Devils have brought in youngsters Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James from Crystal Palace and Swansea City respectively – for a combined total of £64.8m – but former Liverpool defender Nicol has not been impressed by United’s transfer dealings so far.
Asked which Premier League managers should fear the sack ahead of the upcoming season, he said on ESPN FC (via The Daily Express): “The one I’m going to go for is – because they’ve done pretty much nothing so far in the transfer market – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“He’s got nothing to work with right now, but he’s still got the expectation to live up to.
“If, come Christmas, Manchester United are that far out of the top four, I don’t expect them to be in the top four, then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could be in trouble.”
United have started pre-season promisingly following a dreadful run of results towards the end of the previous season in which they won just two of their final 12 matches in all competitions.
Solskjaer has guided his side to four straight pre-season victories, including a 2-1 win over top-four rivals Spurs in Shanghai.
It was Christmas (18th December, to be exact) when United parted ways with Solskjaer’s predecessor Jose Mourinho with the team in sixth in the Premier League, while the club have often used league performances to determine the future of their managers.
David Moyes was sacked soon after the club’s top-four hopes went up in smoke five years ago, while not even an FA Cup success could save Louis van Gaal from suffering the same fate after a fifth-placed Premier League finish.
And Manchester United may be forced into a familiar decision should Solskjaer fail to get results out of the team in the opening months of the season.
So perhaps the onus will be on Solskjaer to hit the ground running in order to convince the United hierarchy of keeping his Old Trafford project in the works as the Red Devils look to make a return to the Champions League.
