Does Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserve a new contract at Man United?

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United team are in a rather envious position in the Premier League right now. 

While they’d undoubtedly prefer to be top, the Old Trafford side sit just five points behind league leaders Manchester City. 

While that in itself would prove to be a perfectly achievable gap to overcome, Solskjaer’s side will also have the advantage of not having to prepare for tough Champions League ties like their opponents. 

As the schedule shortens and player fitness becomes an ever increasing factor in results, the Red Devils may find themselves with a notable advantage when it comes to the business end of the league campaign. 

With that in mind, it seems as though United ought to be rather content with Solskjaer’s performances as manager to date. However, that may not be entirely the case. 

According to the Sun, the Old Trafford club will consider the possibility of extending the manager’s contract beyond the end of his current deal, which expires in 2022. But only at the end of this season. 

How does Solskjaer compare to Mourinho, Van Gaal and Moyes?  

While the Norwegian manager may be in his most comfortable position since joining the club as manager in 2918, it isn’t hard to think back to when Solskjaer was under real pressure to turn results around at United. 

After taking over in December 2018, he guided the club to a lacklustre sixth place and then to a more respectable third the following season – albeit 15 points behind City in second place. 

And when we look at Solskjaer’s overall record we find that he stacks up reasonably well with his predecessors. The manager’s points per game average in the Premier League stands at a respectable 1.84, which is just below Mourinho’s 1.89 but notably better than Louis van Gaal’s and David Moyes’ own records at United. 

Similarly, Solskjaer’s overall win ratio at United stands just below Mourinho’s at 57%, but again much higher than Van Gaal’s 52% or Moyes’ 51%. On paper, the Norwegian manager may not be any better than Mourinho, but he’s certainly not doing a bad job.