Manchester United are in chaos after Ruben Amorim’s sacking, but a potential Ole Gunnar Solskjaer return looks set to be in the works, which is extremely good news for Kobbie Mainoo.
Darren Fletcher’s role is likely to be an extremely temporary one, with the Man Utd favourite taking charge of the Burnley game.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer emerged as the leading candidate to take over until the end of the season, and recent reports suggest the talks are getting closer to a conclusion.
That bodes extremely well for Kobbie Mainoo, because what Solskjaer has said about Vitinha reminds one of the United academy graduate’s game.
What Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said about Vitinha
Since getting sacked by Besiktas at the start of this season, Solskjaer went straight back into the game by taking up a role as a Technical Observer for UEFA.
He broke down and analysed Champions League games for the official website, picking out certain players and patterns that made all the difference.
One such game he analysed in detail was the thrilling 5-3 victory of PSG over Spurs back in November 2025.
Vitinha scored a memorable hat-trick that day, which prompted Spurs manager Thomas Frank to call him the “best in the world”.
Solskjaer echoed that sentiment and expertly analysed the player’s game, who was once given as an example by Ruben Amorim, to explain his stance on Kobbie Mainoo.
Solskjaer said of Vitinha (via UEFA): “He is the one who controls the rhythm of the team and who plays the line-breaking passes. He picks up the ball everywhere, in all phases.
“He gets it from the goalkeeper, on the side of the centre-backs during the build-up, rotating in and out. He also plays decisive passes and tonight scored the goals and won the penalty too. He did everything.”
Solskjaer’s comments bode extremely well for Kobbie Mainoo
It’s interesting to read Solskjaer break down Vitinha’s game, because the traits he adores, like controlling the rhythm of the game, picking up the ball in deeper areas, driving forward, and rotating in build-up, are all traits that sum up Mainoo as a player.
This makes it all the more interesting because Amorim wanted something different from Mainoo, which had to do with athleticism and playing it quicker.
He even gave Vitinha as an example of a player who failed at Wolves in the Premier League before going on to succeed elsewhere.
It’s a fundamental clash of two footballing ideologies, because Amorim said Mainoo looked good under Erik ten Hag since he was the only one controlling the tempo of the game and calming it down.
That’s something Solskjaer admires about Vitinha, which means he’ll find good use of Mainoo as well.
Amorim wanted athletic monsters who ran all day and launched it forward at the first opportunity to create chaos and thrive on second balls.
Solskjaer will allow Mainoo to control the tempo of the game and let others wreak havoc in the final third with their quick interplay and passing.
Nobody is mistaking Mainoo to become the best in the world under Solskjaer, but at least the manager’s philosophy and the player’s playing style will finally align.
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