According to a report, former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was spotted visiting the training facility of MLS side DC United on Tuesday.
Solskjaer, who also played for Manchester United during his career, has been without a job since leaving his role at Old Trafford in 2021.
The Norwegian was present at DC United’s facilities in Leesburg, Virginia, on Tuesday, accompanied by a few employees, according to The Athletics.
Current head coach Wayne Rooney, his staff and players were in Texas on Wednesday in preparation for the club’s match against Austin.
Solskjaer’s presence at the club comes as the guaranteed part of Rooney’s contract in the US capital expires at the end of the season, with a mutual option for 2024.
Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was spotted visiting DC United
The contract of current head coach Wayne Rooney expires at the end of the season
Rooney and Solskjaer played alongside each other at Manchester United from 2004 to 2007
The former Derby County boss revealed last month that he and DC United executives were yet to discuss his future.
“I’m a little disappointed and frustrated that there hasn’t been any contact for two months,” Rooney told Steven Goff of the Washington Post in September.
‘We asked about a new deal. We can sit down and talk about it. We haven’t heard anything back. Either way, I can handle it, whatever the situation is. I was hoping we would have talked about it anyway. That has not been the case.’
Meanwhile, Solskjaer had said last month that he would visit the east coast.
He told The Athletic that he was “going to the east coast of the United States in a few weeks to see Wayne Rooney and David Beckham, see a few games and see what’s what.”
However, Solskjaer is not believed to be in the running to replace Rooney, nor is he a candidate for the vacant DC United managing director spot.
Solskjaer and Rooney played alongside each other for three years at Manchester United at the start of the latter’s on-pitch career and at the end of the former’s.
They won a Premier League title during their time together at Old Trafford in the 2006-07 season.
Solskjaer has been without a job since leaving his managerial role at Old Trafford in 2021
DC United are currently without a general manager after Lucy Rushton parted ways with the club at the end of the 2022 season.
According to The Athletic, the team has contacted Orlando City for permission to interview technical director Ricardo Moreira, but it is unknown whether DC’s hunt has been successful.
In the absence of a general manager, Rooney has been given greater control over the club’s squad, while Dave Kasper, the club’s chairman of football operations and sporting director, has acted as interim general manager.
The reported added that the club believes a decision on Rooney’s future in DC should not be made without input from the future GM.
Under Rooney, DC United are currently one place outside the play-offs behind Montreal on goal difference.
The former England legend took charge midway through the 2022 season and launched a rebuild in the offseason after Unite finished rock bottom in the MLS.
Rooney took charge midway through the 2022 season and launched a rebuild in the off-season
Rooney expressed his desire to remain at the club despite being away from his family, also telling The Washington Post: “We have asked to sit down and speak as planning for next season needs to continue. So we asked two months ago where everything stood: are we moving forward or not moving forward – if that’s the case from their point of view – and we haven’t heard back yet.
“That’s frustrating because anyway, I’d rather know what the plan is because we have to plan for next season. We have to do it sooner rather than later. The fact that we haven’t heard anything yet probably points to one thing, but I’m sure they’ll have their reasons for that. So I’ll just wait and see.’
He lives in the United States without his wife Colleen and their four sons, but Rooney insists it is manageable.
“Of course you miss the kids and your wife, but it’s been as good as it can be,” he said. ‘I’m settled here. The family is settled at home. It hasn’t been a problem at all.’