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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Ian Doyle

Manchester United appoint boyhood Liverpool supporter as permanent replacement for Jose Mourinho

Manchester United have finally appointed a permanent successor to former manager Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho was given the boot days after a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool in December following a disappointing start to the season.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino and former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane were among the names instantly bandied about for the vacant position.

The unexpected windfall that could bolster Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool transfer plans 

United, though, moved to bring in former player Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, boss of Molde in his native Norway, to fill the breach until the end of the season.

Solskjaer won his first eight games and guided United to a club record nine successive away wins, with United progressing to the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona.

And after two successive defeats, United have now made the decision to hand Solskjaer a three-year contract.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of Manchester United greets Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool (John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images)

But unknown to many about the Norwegian is that he was brought up not as a United fan - but as a follower of Liverpool.

Solskjaer, though, remains coy on the subject.

Keep up to date with all the latest Liverpool news and transfer talk here

When asked about whether he grew up as a Liverpool fan by FourFourTwo magazine in 2016, he said: "You learn as long as you live, that’s the only answer I can give you… I never confirm that one! I’m a Manchester United fan through and through. I bleed red."

That's a yes, then...

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