Solskjaer May Have Hinted At Changes In 'Front' With Cristiano Ronaldo Coming In

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could already be picturing how his squad will look once Cristiano Ronaldo arrives.

The English Premier League was stunned by Ronaldo’s decision to make a sensational return to Manchester United. Since the club’s official announcement, there has been a lot of buzz about how Solskjaer will play Ronaldo on the pitch.

When addressing Donny van de Beek’s new role in a recent press conference, Solskjaer hinted that due to the wide array of options in the “front,” where Ronaldo is likely to be deployed, there could be a lot of changes in the midfield.

"[Van de Beek] can play as a one or as a two in midfield," Solskjaer told Manchester United’s official website. "Of course we’ve looked at ways of getting one of the two to go forward. That’s something that Scott [McTominay] is very good at, Paul [Pogba] is good at and Donny is good at, but it’s not as easy as that as it depends on who you've got in front of you."

"Donny, as I said earlier on, has been unfortunate," he explained. "In the first game of course we played really well, winning 5-1, I think that justified the team selection. In the next game against Southampton, Nemanja [Matic] deserved to play because he was our best player in pre-season, both on and off the pitch. When you’ve [only] got a game every eight days, it’s hard for a manager when you’ve got the quality of the players I’ve got.”

Prior to Ronaldo’s signing, Manchester United’s squad was already stacked with world-class midfielders and strikers such as Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Edinson Cavani, Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho.

Nevertheless, Solskjaer insisted that he will be doing his best to push for “balance” and “rotation” this season.

"But when we come back from the international break, there will be games for everyone,” the manager pointed out. “The balance has to be there between consistency and rotation.”

It wouldn’t be a shock if Ronaldo takes over and becomes Manchester United’s primary striker.

In fact, ahead of the 36-year-old’s return to Old Trafford, Solskjaer already admitted that his former teammate will have a spot in his team.

“He’s such a tremendous human being so let’s see what happens with him; everyone who’s played with him will have a soft spot for him,” the Norwegian said of Ronaldo.