Solskjaer Still Has Great Finishing Touch In Training – Grant Reveals

Forum 3 years ago

Solskjaer Still Has Great Finishing Touch In Training – Grant Reveals

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer still possesses the finishing touch that made him such a formidable striker when he joins in with Manchester United training, says Red Devils goalkeeper Lee Grant.

The United boss was nicknamed “the baby-faced assassin” during his playing career at Old Trafford, where he scored 126 in 366 appearances between 1996 and 2007.

Now 47, the former striker’s playing days are well behind him, though he still loves to join in with shooting drills at training.

United keeper Grant gets to witness Solskjaer’s skills first hand and says he hasn’t lost his finishing ability, though he no longer as the power that the likes of Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood have.

“The gaffer loves it,” Grant told the club’s website. “The trouble is that they are striking the ball ridiculously. Rashy [Marcus Rashford], Mason [Greenwood], these guys, they are hitting the ball so hard, the gaffer can’t live with them now. His accuracy is still there, though.

“Occasionally, the ball will pop out and he will just rattle one in the bottom corner and he’ll give you the eyes.”

Grant also revealed he has a friendly rivalry with team-mate Anthony Martial, challenging the Frenchman to try and score past him in training, something he thinks has ended up benefiting the forward in the Premier League.

“We have a nice little battle actually,” he added “I’m always on at him in training, always digging at him in training to try to do better.

“If Anthony shoots and I save it, I go: ‘1-0, Anto’. Then he’ll get this glint in his eye and the next one, it won’t matter if the gaffer says don’t worry about the shot in the end, he’ll come through and want to shoot in a one-on-one.

“He won’t even say anything, he’ll just do that [1-1], and then the next one, and we’ll do that all day. So a lovely little rivalry goes on between us.

“You might have caught it with the goal he scored at home against Bournemouth. He cuts inside and hits an unbelievable strike, then looks up in the stands at me, like that. I’m stood up giving applause, it’s the type of thing to do, but he’d have loved to score that goal against me, probably more than he would do against Bournemouth!”