Solskjaer set for SHOCK return to management with Champions League club

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 7 Apr 2023 14:29 BST
• 3 min read

Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is on the shortlist of candidates to replace Scott Parker at Belgian champions Club Brugge, according to reports.

Solksjaer has been out of work since leaving United in November 2021 with the Red Devils seventh in the Premier League, having conceded 15 goals across their previous five league fixtures.

A club legend as a player - Solkjaer scored the winning goal against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final - the former striker has failed to recreate that success as a manager, with spells at Molde and Cardiff his only experience outside of his Man Utd tenure.

READ: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: I am a Liverpool supporter!

But that hasn't put off Brugge, who have been without a manager since dismissing former Chelsea midfielder Parker last month after winning just two games in three months.

"Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been included on the shortlist for the vacant manager's job at the Belgian side Club Bruges," reports the Times' Paul Hirst.

Other candidates

"It is understood that Solskjaer is not the club's first choice, but they could turn to the Norwegian if other targets are not keen on the job.

"These include the former Celtic manager Ronny Deila and the 42-year-old German Dino Toppmoller, who is a free agent after leaving Bayern Munich.

READ: Julian Nagelsmann responds to Chelsea links

Deila is currently in charge of Bruges' rivals Standard Liege, and led them to a 3-0 victory over his potential future employers in September - their heaviest league defeat in more than a year.

Toppmoller was Julian Nagelsmann's assistant at Bayern, and left when he was sacked and replaced by former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel last week.

Bruges won Belgium's Jupiler Pro League last season, securing automatic qualification for the Champions League group stages before escaping a Group B which included Porto, Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid.

Their domestic form has been abysmal, though, and they are currently fifth, 19 points off Genk's league-setting pace.