Solskjaer appointed permanent Man United manager

Manchester United have handed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a three-year contract to make him their manager on a permanent basis.

The move has seemed inevitable for many weeks given the transformation United have made since Solskjaer arrived on a caretaker basis following the sacking of Jose Mourinho in December.

Solksjaer has won 14 of his 19 games in charge, reviving hopes of a top-four finish and unexpectedly guiding United to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Solskjaer, who scored 126 goals in 366 appearanes for United, was already a hero to fans as the man who scored the stoppage-time winner in the 1999 Champions League final to complete the treble.

And it is some of the those late-game heroics that Solskjaer has restored to United’s play, most notably with Marcus Rashford’s last-minute penalty securing their Champions League win over Paris St Germain at the start of the month.

After Mourinho was sacked following a 3-1 loss to Liverpool on December 16, Solskjaer initially arrived from Molde ‘on loan’ until the end of the season.

The Norwegian club had been adamant he would return to his job there with United poised to look elsewhere for a permanent boss, but Solskjaer’s results were impossible to ignore and former players had been queuing up to call for his appointment.

United sources say there will be a “gesture of goodwill” to Molde.

Following the confirmation of his permanent appointment, Solskjaer, 46, said on manutd.com: “This is the job that I always dreamed of doing and I’m beyond excited to have the chance to lead the club long-term and hopefully deliver the continued success that our amazing fans deserve.”

United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward added: “More than just performances and results, Ole brings a wealth of experience, both as a player and as a coach, coupled with a desire to give young players their chance and a deep understanding of the culture of the club.”

Assistant Mike Phelan has also been key to United’s resurgence and is expected to stay.

Phelan has spent much of the international break in Australia, where Sir Alex Ferguson’s former right-hand man works as sporting director of the A-League’s Central Coast Mariners.