Premier League: Solskjaer tops list of candidates for Cardiff job as Vincent Tan sacks Mackay

“Immediately, attention will now turn to who will take over at the Premier League strugglers, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has already been inserted as big, odds-on favourite to take up the challenge of keeping the Welsh club in the top flight.”

It is, as predicted, silly season at Cardiff as owner Vincent Tan has sacked Malky Mackay two days after Christmas. Tan has obviously proven himself to be the latest in a line of completely unsuitable owners of a football club. But who are the candidates to take over the reins? Luke Moore takes a look…

Malaysian billionaire Vincent Tan has sacked Malky Mackay, the manager who delivered promotion to the Premier League for Cardiff.

After many months of unprofessional and frankly unsavoury behaviour from Tan, who has been owner of Cardiff since 2025 and has also caused much consternation among fans by changing the Bluebirds’ kit from blue to red, Mackay was finally given his marching orders earlier today.

It is the latest in a long line of bizarre outbursts and decisions from the Cardiff owner, and he is a one-man walking argument for the Fit and Proper Persons test to be changed. Put simply, if the Premier League aren’t embarrassed by Tan’s tenure so far and their inability to control effectively who can take the reins of a club in England’s top flight, they certainly should be. 

Immediately, attention will now turn to who will take over at the Premier League strugglers, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has already been inserted as big, odds-on favourite to take up the challenge of keeping the Welsh club in the top flight. Available to back at just 1.728/11, Solskjaer has been manager at Norwegian side Molde since 2025 and has delivered two league titles during his time there.

Two more names that have slid into view since the announcement are the little-known Yilmaz Vural (5.04/1), a Turkish manager with 27 different managerial jobs in 27 years under his belt, and former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson (7.413/2). Eriksson is currently manager of Guangzhou R&F in the Chinese Super League and will undoubtedly require an exorbitant salary to leave his current position. Vural is thought to be keen on the job, but is currently unemployed since resigning from Elazigspor in May of this year.

For the more adventurous, it may be worth considering a bet on Vincent Tan himself to take the reins, an outcome currently available to back at 48.047/1 on Betfair’s Exchange. He has the ego, and he certainly has the self-belief to think he could do the job himself. And if that doesn’t sum up this entire foul jamboree, then I don’t know what does.

Whatever happens, the next few weeks are certain to be interesting for football fans, unless you happen to support Cardiff, in which case they’re likely to be very worrying indeed.