Gary Neville has finally managed to get Ole Gunnar Solskjær on The Overlap and the Manchester United legend turned manager has finally shed some light on just how close he came to singing the likes of Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland and Declan Rice.
Appearing alongside Stick To Football regular and former teammate Roy Keane as well, Solskjær arguably one of the biggest looks behind the curtain since he was sacked from Man United back in 2021, detailing everything from the state of the dressing room to how he fit into the hierarchy around the club.
Perhaps most interestingly, the one-time ‘baby-faced assassin’ also spoke on his attempts to bring Premier League stars Haaland and Rice to Old Trafford, as well as another one of England and Europe’s most exciting talents: a then-teenaged Jude Bellingham, now shining at Real Madrid.
Explaining the player recruitment set-up in more detail than most Reds will have ever heard before, Ole insisted that while he was consulted and did get to say ‘yes or no’ from a list of players, he did bring all three of these names to the table but they didn’t work out for one reason or another.
🇳🇴 Stick to Football: Solskjaer 🇳🇴
🔴 Manchester United Exit 👀 Haaland, Bellingham, Rice ✍️ Signing Cristiano Ronaldo 🏆 Winning The Treble
The episode is available now on YouTube and all major podcast platforms!
Ole talks Rice, Bellingham, Haaland, the Ronaldo deal and more on Stick To Football.
Starting with Rice before he went to Arsenal, he said that although it “would’ve cost some money, we could and should’ve gone for him” at the time, as well as going on to reveal that they managed to get Bellingham in the building to meet legends like Sir Alex, Cantona and Bryan Robson.
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However, while he insisted that they tried to sell him the project as best they could, he said that even at his age “he knew what he wanted: x amount of minutes in the first team… he had it planned out”, adding that he was “the most mature 17-year-old I’ve ever met in my life”.
As for the matter of his fellow countryman Haaland, who he had already managed back home in Molde as a youngster, Solskjær said that after roughly two seasons of coaching him he “rang the club and said, ‘You’ve got to sign this boy’, he’ll be absolutely top class”.
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Unfortunately, United didn’t see fit to take a chance on his recommendation even after he became manager, passing up the opportunity of signing him for just a £20 million release clause and then again for £60m after he started scoring for Salzburg. As fellow ex-pro and panellist Jill Scott put it: “Bargain”.
🇳🇴🗣️ Ole Gunnar Solskjær: "I had Haaland in Molde, for two seasons. The summer before I got here (to Man United), I rang the club and said: you've got to sign this boy. He’ll be top class."
"That was June, July 2018, and they said no. They had enough reports on players. Then I… pic.twitter.com/QM6XVqE7Iy
Ole also went on to discuss the process of bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford, which despite claiming was “the right decision at the time” he admits “didn’t work out” for either of them, citing complaints when he wasn’t played as the wider impact on their desired playing style overall.
Beyond that, the 51-year-old reflected on players passing up the captaincy for certain games during his tenure, taking time away from management after being at United, his own playing career and how Erik ten Hag is fairing at present and more in the lengthy chat.
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You can watch Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s episode of Stick To Football in full down below:
Oldham Athletic have founded a brand-new deaf football club
Danny Jones
Oldham Athletic FC have just started a brand-new team for deaf players ahead of the upcoming 2026/27 season.
A dedicated side built around footballers with hearing impairments, it’s an uplifting show of accessibility by the Greater Manchester side.
While this is by no means a first, and we’re proud to say that there are multiple deaf football teams across the region and North West at large, having an EFL club of this stature and history get behind the initiative is a deeply moving development and statement of intent when it comes to helping key causes.
Officially confirmed this past weekend, OAFC are set to join the North League of the deaf football pyramid imminently.
Writing alongside the social media post, the Latics said: “We are delighted to announce the launch of Oldham Athletic Deaf Football Club.
“Oldham Athletic Deaf Football Club is a brand-new team that will provide deaf and hard of hearing players with the opportunity to represent the club and compete under the Oldham Athletic badge, competing in the North League of the Deaf football pyramid.”
Once again, they are not the first local outfit to develop a deaf football programme, with the likes of Radcliffe FC, Manchester Futsal, the Deaf Rhinos in Rochdale, and Greater Manchester Deaf FC all having helped pave the way for this particular sector of the beautiful game.
In yet another recent display of their grassroots work in action, Frank Rothwell’s community-driven club have also reaffirmed their commitment to developing more pathways for young talent:
🗓️ There are extra opportunities for Year 11 school leavers to join our Football Centre of Excellence this week.
⚽ Register now for our men's programme pre-season training on Tuesday 28 and Thursday 30 July with Chris Taylor. #oafc
Circling back to the new deaf football team, the statement goes on to read, “The new team marks another important step in OACT’s commitment to ensuring that football is accessible and inclusive for everyone across the borough.
“Through the creation of Oldham Athletic Deaf Football Club, the Trust aims to provide a welcoming environment where players can develop their skills, enjoy the game, and experience the pride of representing Oldham Athletic.”
If you or someone you know might be interested in getting involved with Oldham’s new deaf football team, you can find out more about the wider project in their full announcement HERE.
As for the mainline men’s team, you can see the highlights from their most recent pre-season game against nearby opponents and old Lancashire rivals, Bolton Wanderers, down below.
Featured Images — Oldham Athletic Football Club (publicity picture)
Sport
Luke Littler is challenging amateurs to beat him at darts as part of a live Netflix event
Danny Jones
In an unprecedented new sports event in the world of streaming, North West sports star Luke Little is offering people the chance to try and win a game of darts against him live on Netflix.
Best of all, he and the entertainment platform have put up a huge grand prize for anyone who can beat the Warrington wonder.
So, for any of you who fancy yourselves as Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor reincarnated when stepping up to the oche down at the local, or if you’re simply bold enough to throw your name in the hat, you’ll want to pay attention for this one…
Announcing the special one-off sporting event on Netflix later this year, Luke Littler has issued the call-out to see if anyone can best him in a game of 501 in front of millions watching at home.
Quite literally the opportunity of a lifetime for fans of the arrows, this exclusive livestream is like nothing that the media giants have done before.
Having dipped their toes into the likes of live boxing fights over the past few years, they’ve definitely got a few live events under their belt, but this exciting and crucially interactive series of matches feels like something genuinely new for Netflix.
Most notably of all, using the name of the popular darts game played not only live on telly at competitions throughout the year but also at countless pubs across the country to set the prize fee, a prospective winner could potentially win £501k this autumn.
Imagine: half a million pounds for one (admittedly very tough) game of darts.
The only major caveat aside from, you know, him being an absolute phenom and already a serial winner is he also happens to be in the form of his life – his words and virtually everyone else’s.
"This is the best version of myself… I'm playing SO WELL!"
Luke Littler listens to some of the records he's broken in his ridiculous World Matchplay campaign 🤯 pic.twitter.com/EVQSrHxSHf
Having smashed Gerwyn Price to defend his World Matchplay Darts title on Sunday evening, cruising to an 18-9 victory with so many 100+ visits and finishes that he broke the tournament’s record average, which has stood since 2010, anyone who does come up against him is currently praying for a miracle.
Price himself told Sky Sports that the youngster’s performance looked ‘effortless’, quipping, “I hope there’s nobody else like him coming through!”
Still only 19, the local lad is the toughest of tasks for even the best on the pro circuit, but if you still somehow fancy your chances, heats will be taking place in Manchester and London, where the top 20 players will get their shot at the man himself on Friday, 30 October.
You can find out all the important information and sign up right HERE.
For now, why not see just how good Littler is playing at the minute and watch back his highlights from a record-breaking final this weekend?
Not that he’s ever truly cooled off, but he really is on fire at the minute.
Danny Jones -
6th March 2024 
