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Manchester United expected to split with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after emergency meeting

After a five-hour emergency meeting, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is on his way out.

Solskjaer is expected to be fired in the coming hours, according to ESPN’s Rob Dawson.

The move came after the club’s brutal 4-1 loss to Watford earlier in the day, their fifth loss in seven Premier League matches. Solskjaer, a source told Dawson, knew he had to win on Saturday to keep his job.

Solskjaer had signed a new three-year deal with the club in August, though the team is set to pay him about $8.5 million in severance, according to The Times. The split will be announced once paperwork is completed, according to The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano.

The 48-year-old was hired at United in December 2018 following a four-year stint with Molde in Norway. He compiled a 92-41-35 overall record with the team. Though there had reportedly been internal hope that Solskjaer would finish out the season, there were "genuine fears" that he would fail to earn the club a spot in the Champions League next season, per ESPN.

United had suffered several tough losses under Solskjaer's leadership in recent weeks, including a 5-0 loss to Liverpool and a 2-0 loss to Manchester City.

The club is set to take on Villarreal in a Champions League match on Tuesday. United does hold the lead in Group F headed into Tuesday’s game, the fifth of six. It’s unclear who will lead United in the meantime, though both technical director Darren Fletcher and assistant Michael Carrick are likely to step in.

Manchester United's Norwegian manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Manchester United and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are expected to split on Saturday night. (Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images) (IAN KINGTON via Getty Images)