Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Should Be Alex Ferguson's Successor at Manchester United

At 70 years of age, Sir Alex Ferguson's reign as the Machester United manager will soon come to an end, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, his former super-sub, is the right man to take over the club.

Fergie has had a historic run in his 25-year tenure at Old Trafford, winning the Premier League 12 times. He has also been named Manager of the Season 10 times and is one of three British bosses to win multiple European Cup titles. 

Whoever is pegged as the next manager in Manchester will be drowning in impossibly high expectations, and it is no surprise that some of the biggest names in the football world, such as Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, have been linked to the job.

Some supporters may scoff at Solskjaer's name being added to the list of possible successors, given that the coaches previously mentioned have managed some of the world's biggest clubs. 

The Norwegian is young, talented, driven and has a deep connection with the club. All these factors make Solksjaer the right man for the post. 

After his retirement as a player in 2007, Solskjaer took over as the manager for the Manchester United Reserves team in 2008. He spent three years with the club that made him a star, then returned to the club that gave him his start.

In 2011, the former United striker took over as manager of Molde FK, the Norwegian club that gave him his first professional contract.

In his first season at the helm of the team, he won the first championship in the club's 100-year history.

Solskjaer, just as Fergie did, is starting his managerial career in his home country.

The current United boss climbed the ranks of Scottish soccer, eventually gaining notoriety as a manager at Aberdeen, where he won several trophies.

Ferguson was 45 years old when hired at Old Trafford, whereas Solskjaer is 38. Ferguson has recently proclaimed that he has no intentions of retiring soon, giving his former striker time to gain experience as a manger.

When the time comes for Fergie to step down, he will undoubtedly have a say in who will take his position, whether he accepts an administrative role with the club or not.

This bodes well for Solskjaer because Ferguson thinks extremely highly of him.

"My knowledge of Ole as a student of the game is quite clear; every game he played and every training session he took part in he always wrote it all down,'' Ferguson said. "That tells you his dedication to learn the game and also his attention to meticulous detail."

When the Fergie era comes to an end at Old Trafford, the club would ideally turn over the team to a young manager with a future bright enough to have another 25-year reign as boss.

Solskjaer possesses the necessary qualities to do just that, and when the Super Scot steps down, he would be smart to hand the job over to the super-sub.