Swansea City are one of four Championship sides currently in the thick of a managerial search following the recent dismissal of Alan Sheehan in South Wales.
The Irishman’s position at the Swansea.Com Stadium was finally deemed untenable by the Swans’ American ownership consortium on Tuesday afternoon following a 4-1 home defeat to newly-relegated Ipswich Town.
The damaging result has officially made it the club’s worst start to a campaign since they were relegated from the Premier League seven years ago, hardly aligning with the progressive plans that had been previously outlined by the hierarchy, as well as an extremely active summer transfer window.
Several names have, unnaturally, been linked with the vacant post as Swansea, ideally, make it a swift managerial hunt over the course of the Championship’s final international break of 2025, and one which eventually yields short-term and long-term success, having not come close to a top-flight return since the play-off final defeat against Brentford in May 2021.
The link with the most substance at present involves Hammarby IF manager, Kim Hellberg, who was previously said to have impressed the board, who opted to hand Sheehan a three-year deal instead after an impressive interim period following the exit of Luke Williams.
However, a revelation from another Scandinavian, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, may perk the interest of the Swans board, although a move for the Norwegian wouldn’t exactly go down well with supporters due to his past connections with their not-so nearest and dearest.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær issues potential hint at EFL managerial return
The 52-year-old has previously held five managerial positions – twice with Molde FK in his native Norway, which included Eliteserien successes in 2012 and 2013, Swansea’s bitter rivals, Cardiff City, his former side Manchester United and most recently, Turkish Süper Lig giants, Besiktas.
Indeed, Solskjaer was in charge of the Istanbul club between January and August, before he was sacked after the Black Eagles failed to defeat Lausanne-Sport of Switzerland and progress into the ‘League Phase’ of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
On a second appearance on Sky Sports’ ‘The Overlap’ podcast with Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott, the former striker revealed that he is, once again, based in the North West, and when asked about his latest managerial steps, admitted that he hasn’t ruled out a return to the Championship, having previously worked in the second-tier 11 years ago with the Bluebirds.
“It’s not like I’m desperate to be back in [management], but yeah I can be,” he stated.
“I love living [in England] as well.
“You know when my kids ask me [where], I’m [telling them], mid-Championship and up,” Solskjaer revealed.
The middle of the Championship is exactly where Swansea currently, and have recently, found themselves under the management of Russell Martin, Williams and most recently Sheehan.
Solskjaer’s recent revelation will no doubt spark major discourse, but that doesn’t exclusively belong to the Swansea camp, with divisional rivals in the form of Middlesbrough, Southampton and Norwich City conducting managerial searches of their own.
As has been well-documented, the ex-Red Devils icon has spent the bulk of his managerial career at Old Trafford, doing so between December 2018 and November 2021, as well as only dropping below top-flight level once.
However, it’s fair to say that his spell at the Cardiff City Stadium would make this potential appointment a no-go in the eyes of many Swansea fans due to multiple factors.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s underwhelming stint in charge of Cardiff City
11 years have since passed, but Solskjaer’s first stint in the English game within the dugout was hardly successful with Cardiff.
Typifying the controversy which the Bluebirds were always close to during the mid-2010s, his appointment followed mass outrage from supporters when Vincent Tan sacked Championship-winning boss, Malky Mackay in December 2013.
Solskjaer was given a 12-month rolling contract by the club, with the initial remit of preserving the club’s Premier League status with half of the 2013/14 season still to play.
“I am really looking forward to convincing the Cardiff fans that I am the right man to take them forward,” he said at the time.
Despite the Welsh side narrowly keeping their heads above water at the time of his appointment, the Norwegian won just three of 18 top-flight games in charge, with Cardiff ending the season rock-bottom and six points adrift.
A disastrous summer of turnover followed, with Solskjaer and his new-look squad unable to stop the rot which had firmly set in months previous.
Cardiff won just two of their opening seven games after relegation, with their former boss stepping down on 18th September 2014 with the club positioned 17th in the table, due to what was described as a “difference in philosophy” by both parties, with Tan also admitting he was advised to dismiss Solskjaer after a disastrous run in the top-flight.
Of course, times have changed since, with Solskjaer now vastly experienced in management, albeit his spell with the Red Devils was just as tumultuous.
Therefore, whilst being a high-profile name, aligning with investors such as Luka Modrić, it would be a huge gamble for the Swans to take, particularly if they aim to repair evident division amongst the fanbase.
