Fresh claim made on Swansea City and a potential move for ex-Man Utd boss - 'it could be a making of him' | OneFootball

FLW's Swansea City fan pundit has given his verdict on the possibility of appointing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has claimed he is open to working in the Championship amid Swansea City’s search for a new manager.

The Norwegian has been out of work since August after being sacked by Besiktas following their failure to qualify for European competition for this season.

He has previously worked in England with the Swans’ bitter rivals Cardiff City, albeit for only a few months back during the 2013/14 campaign, as well as Manchester United, where he also played.

Speaking on The Overlap, he admitted that his preference would be to work in England, if he were to come back to club management, with multiple vacancies in the Championship at the moment.

It was reported that Kim Hellberg was in line to take over, but it has since been claimed that he is now instead set for rivals Middlesbrough.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could be suited for the Championship

When asked about the possible arrival of Solskjaer, FLW’s Swansea fan pundit Will Hughes claimed that it could be quite an interesting appointment, and that the Championship could be an appropriate level for him to work at.

He believes that the 52-year-old had a comparable time at Man United as Gareth Southgate enjoyed with England, suggesting he could bring a feelgood factor back to the side, should he be appointed.

“It’s a real interesting one with Solskjaer,” Hughes told Football League World.

“Who would’ve considered him to be looking at managing in the Championship? But potentially that could be his level, that could be the making of him.

“He came to the Premier League with Cardiff, and I think they were a ticking timebomb anyway to go down.

“And then obviously, out of nowhere, goes to Man United after Jose [Mourinho] gets sacked, and does really well.

“He had a really good run, there was a feelgood factor to the team, he was getting the best out of certain players who Mourinho wasn’t, and then I think the players threw him under the bus that season.

“If I remember correctly, he does well with them in the league, gets them to the Europa League final — obviously, yes, loses.

“So it was a case where he could only get them to a certain point, so it’s almost like a Gareth Southgate situation.

“Did well, got the feelgood factor back, got people enjoying watching that team again, and then when it got to the final hurdle, like winning a trophy or getting to a certain point, he just couldn’t do it.”

Hughes has also claimed that Solskjaer’s time at Cardiff shouldn’t disqualify him from taking over Swansea either, and that he could be a good appointment for the team.

“So, it could be a making of him because, as I say, dropping down to this level could better him, he could definitely better us in this division as well,” he added.

“It could be his level.

“Whether or not he is someone I would consider at Swans, I don’t know.

“Let’s not forget, he’s got his Cardiff connections, albeit it was only for a few months, and I wouldn’t necessarily call him a rival because he was with them for such a short time, and in that time we beat them 3-0 and they got relegated.

“So it wasn’t necessarily a previous Cardiff manager that would be massively disliked by the Swansea fanbase.

“I would think it would be a good appointment for a Championship club, I really do.

“As I say, whether he’d be asking for a lot of money is another question.

“It should be something that could potentially happen, especially with the fact he’s said he’s open to it.”

Swansea are currently 18th in the Championship table after 15 games played, with the team only seven points clear of the relegation zone, and eight adrift of the play-offs.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appointment would be intriguing for Swansea

Solskjaer’s time at Cardiff is an obvious stumbling block with some supporters, but it’s also a period of his career should was so long ago that shouldn’t be a real judgement of his capability for the Swansea role now.

Meanwhile, the step up at Man United is so big that it’s similarly had to quantify what it would mean for him with the Welsh outfit.

He certainly showed he knew how to get the best out of a squad of players during his time at Old Trafford, and that skill could be quite useful at a Championship level.

It remains to be seen whether Solskjaer is actually willing to take over the second division side, but it could be quite an intriguing appointment for the new owners.