Manchester United are reportedly eyeing Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers as a potential replacement for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, 48, has been under huge pressure in recent weeks following Manchester United’s shocking downturn in form and results. That reached its lowest point on Sunday when the Red Devils were battered 5-0 by bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford, leaving Solskjaer with five defeats in the last nine games across all competitions.
While the Norwegian remains in job, Manchester United are weighing up replacements should their manager fail to arrest the rut the club is in at the moment. According to ESPN, Brendan Rodgers has emerged as a successor for Solskjaer, who has been given three games by the Manchester United hierarchy to save his job.
Rodgers, 48, has done an excellent job at Leicester City since arriving at the club from Celtic in February 2019. He signed a long-term contract later that year committing him to the Foxes until 2025, which means Manchester United would have to cough up a sizeable amount if they are to negotiate his release clause from Leicester City.
Brendan Rodgers to Manchester United—A smart managerial choice?
Manchester United have lost the plot in recent weeks and dropped down to seventh on the table. They have taken just one point from their last 12 in the Premier League, with Solskjaer’s side last winning a league game against West Ham at the London Stadium in September.
While Solskjaer remains adamant he is the right man to take Man United back to the top, the inability to inspire the players to get positive results starting from the Tottenham game on Saturday could result in him losing the job. Having said that, is Brendan Rodgers the right man to succeed the Norwegian tactician at Old Trafford?
Rodgers has come a long way in his managerial career since starting it at Watford back in 2008. He came to prominence by helping Swansea City achieve promotion to the Premier League via playoffs in 2011. The Northern Irishman did an impressive job at Liverpool and came close to winning the Premier League title in 2014.
The 48-year-old tasted rich success in his three-year spell with Celtic, winning seven major honours, including two Scottish Premiership titles. Rodgers has transformed Leicester City from a mid-table club to a top-six outfit over the last couple of years, impressing bystanders with a fluid, attractive and attacking style of football.
The Northern Irish tactician oversaw the Foxes’ first-ever FA Cup triumph last season, whilst guiding them to back-to-back fifth-place finishes on the Premier League table.
A shrewd manager with impressive man-management skills and tactical flexibility to outfox teams, Rodgers has grown in stature in the last five years with his ability to build strong teams on tight budgets, play free-flowing attacking football and promote youth catching the eye.
The 48-year-old Northern Irishman has the experience of managing several Premier League clubs while his skill to blood youngsters and develop them into top players—as demonstrated by his work at Liverpool, Celtic and Leicester City—coincide with the ideals and principles of Manchester United.
If Solskjaer fails to get a reaction from his boys in the next three games and is consequently dismissed, Rodgers would be a good shout to take the Man United job.