Ole Gunnar Solskjaer latest: how much would it cost Man Utd to sack him & is Antonio Conte interested?

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will face the media on Friday for the first time since last weekend and the immediate aftermath of that crushing defeat to Liverpool.

The Manchester United manager has grown used to his future being under the spotlight over the past three years, but even he hasn’t faced a week quite like this, with almost hourly reports emerging about his future across Monday and Tuesday.

Solskjaer may address this during his pre-match press conference ahead of the weekend Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur, but in the meantime there are still plenty of rumours and reports circulating about the Norwegian. We’ve rounded up the latest stories on the Solskjaer saga…

Ronaldo’s response

The Manchester Evening News reports that Cristiano Ronaldo is trying to rally his United team-mates not to ‘down tools’ despite several players stunned at Solskjaer’s recent management of the squad.

The paper also states Ronaldo is ‘holding the dressing room together’ and that United have no succession plan if Solskjaer was to be dismissed.

A costly exit?

According to the Sun, United would have to pay the former striker £7.5m if he were to be sacked, which is the equivalent of a full year’s salary.

They also claim a four-man shortlist of potential candidates has been drawn up, and includes Antonio Conte, Zinedine Zidane, Brendan Rodgers and Erik ten Hag.

Antonio Conte: poised and ready?

Italian outlet Gazzetta Dello Sport claim Conte has already ‘said yes’ to United and the talent of nine players - Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, Raphael Varane, Alex Telles, Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford - appeals to the former Chelsea manager.

Meanwhile, Inter Live have reported Conte plans to bring Inter Milan centre-back Steven de Vrij to Old Trafford, if he were to be appointed.