Harry Maguire has already waxed lyrical about ‘fantastic, underappreciated’ Man United managerial candidate
Man United’s Harry Maguire has previously heaped high praise on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and could soon be managed by him again as he emerges as a candidate to become their new interim boss.
Amorim was sacked by Man United on Monday following a 1-1 draw with rivals Leeds United at Elland Road.
His side had won just one of their last five games before his dismissal, but the decision looks to have mainly been taken because of long-term uncertainty around his tactics and disagreements on transfers.
Darren Fletcher has been appointed as United’s new interim boss, and he is a candidate to take charge until the end of the season alongside fellow club legends Michael Carrick and Solskjaer [Sky Sports].
Solskjaer was the Red Devils’ manager between 2018 and 2021, and Maguire would no doubt love him to return to Old Trafford, based on what he has previously said about his management skills.
Maguire thinks Solskjaer was ‘brilliant’ and ‘never got the recognition’ for what he did at United
The Norwegian was a hero at Man United as a player, and he returned to the club as caretaker manager in December 2018 before being handed the permanent job in March 2019.
He led them to sixth, third and second-placed Premier League finishes and the 2021 Europa League final, but was sacked in November that year, with the Red Devils sat seventh in the top-flight.
They have yet to finish above third in the league since his departure, and Maguire heaped praise on Solskjaer in a recent interview with Discovery+, while he insisted that he was a great manager to play under.
He said: “Ole was brilliant, I think Ole was so underappreciated. He never got the recognition for what he was doing.
“It felt like everyone was waiting for the moment to kick him down, and he never allowed it, he was a real good manager, a real good staff around him with Kieran and Carrick, a fantastic man-manager, he knew how to look after his team and his players.
“It felt like he never really got the recognition and it was a shame really. Ultimately that third season we didn’t do enough, the balance of the team wasn’t what we had the previous two years, but I can’t speak highly enough of Ole.”
Solskjaer could give Maguire a bigger role at United if he is reappointed
United were backed to reappoint Solskjaer before Amorim‘s exit, and now that he has left, the 52-year-old is believed to be open to returning to the Old Trafford dugout.
He signed Maguire from Leicester City as United boss in 2019, and the England centre-back has played more games under him than any other manager in his career so far, with 121 appearances in the two years they spent together at United.
Solskjaer was equally complimentary about Maguire in an interview with the BBC last summer, as he said: “For me, Harry [Maguire] has always been a leader and a fighter.
“I was never in doubt when I signed him and he walked in the door he would be captain for us. There is another captain there in Bruno [Fernandes]. The two of them are top human beings.
“Those two and Victor [Lindelof] are probably the only ones still at the club that I have heard from since I left. You want the best for them.”
The two could well be working together again soon, with Maguire hoping to build on his nine appearances so far this term when he returns from injury in the coming weeks.