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Manchester United Appoint Thomas Walker to Replace Skolsjær

Walker joins United after spending the last three seasons at LOSC Lille, where his club won the Ligue Un title last month

By Felix Short | June 3, 2021, 7:41 AM EST

Thomas Walker answering questions after his team clinched the Ligue Un Crown on May 23rd. (Michael Bradley/Manchester Guardian)

Manchester, England – Manchester United have appointed Thomas Walker as their next manager, having reached a compensation agreement with LOSC Lille.

Walker, 33, is considered one of the bright young managers in the game and has signed a deal with the Premier League giant through 2026. United have paid compensation to Lille, which sources have indicated will alleviate many of the financial concerns that have plagued the defending Ligue Un champions since the start of the pandemic.

Walker is set to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who asked United to release him from his contract following a rift with the executive board at the club regarding player development and transfer philosophy.

“Manchester United have appointed Thomas Walked as their new head coach,” a United statement read. “The Canadian-born 33-year-old will move to Manchester from LOSC Lille on July 1, 2021 ahead of the new season, signing a five year contract with the club.”

Upon leaving Lille, Walker wrote in a statement: “I will leave Lille with a heavy heart. I’ve been able to coach a special team here at a club with tremendous people and tremendous players.”

Walker has been at the helm of some of the most fascinating stories in European soccer over the last several seasons. His most recent success came in May as Lille officially clinched the Ligue Un title over continental monsters Paris Saint-Germain, who had won seven of the last eight league titles. Lille’s 24-11-3 record was good for 82 points, and his one win one draw head-to-head record with PSG sealed their fate. But this was not the first heartwarming story that Walker produced in recent seasons.

Walker was thrust into the managerial role of the Dublin based Shamrock Rovers after only sixteen months as an assistant coach in Europe. Walker spent the next twelve months in the Irish Premier Division as an undefeated manager, going 34 consecutive games unbeaten before being plucked by Lille to save them from relegation. His nineteen win, fifteen tie, zero loss record at Shamrocks earned his team a league title and birth in the Champions League Qualifying Round.

He was then thrust into a relegation battle with Lille, which he managed to avoid in 2017-2018, before turning that team back into one of the best in France. In 2018-2019, his first full season with Lille, the team finished second to PSG in Ligue Un. In the CoVid shortened 2019-2020 season, Walker’s Lille Squad finished fourth. That led into this past year, where Lille not only advanced to the knock-out stages of the Europa League, eventually losing to Ajax, but managed to outpace the Neymar-Mbappé led Parisian super team to win the league title.

Despite the interesting resumé of Thomas Walker, he was rarely on the lips of fans making their opinions heard on who should replace Skolsjær. Fans went through the whole gambit of coaches, from highly decorated managers like Zinedine Zidane, Diego Simeone and Mauricio Pochettino, to up and comers like Brendan Rodgers, Erik ten Hag, or Graham Potter. Many fans felt that United should promote from within and appoint long-time Red Devil Michael Carrick to the top job. Instead, the job went to Thomas Walker, a man with no connection to Manchester United, no experience in the Premier League, and until last month, nothing in the trophy case.

Instead, this move signals United is moving in a more dynamic direction and gives them a young coach which many that are deeply embedded in the sport feel is one of the most dynamic up and comers. He is scheduled to be introduced and meet the press on July 1st.

He'll take over a United team that finished surprisingly well this past season, losing in the Europa league final, and finishing second to inter-city rivals Manchester City in the Premier League. The team already has agreements in place for big money signings. The club looked to bolster its ranks as it makes a push for the Premier League title by adding Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund (£73 million), Raphaël Varane from Real Madrid (£34 million), and Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus (£15 million).

Walker is known for his aggressive playstyle, which includes high energy pressing in the opponents half, and fast, counter attacking soccer that fans will surely enjoy. Walker and his staff are also very well regarded when it comes to the time and effort they put into the development of young players. At Lille, Walker was also instrumental in the development of top youngsters like Victor Osimhen, Renato Sanches, Sven Botman, and Jonathan David. The United Board feels these qualities make him the ideal candidate for the Premier League, in which every game is against world class talent and coaches.

United is teeming with young talent, and Thomas Walker appears to be the ideal candidate to shepherd those players into the first team. Undoubtedly, Walker will be a boon for established players like Marcus Rashford, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and the recently acquired Jadon Sancho (pictured left), but Walker may be even more impactful for the Academy Products that United has historically churned out at an impressive pace.

In recent years, Manchester United has joined the trend of Europe’s super clubs in buying highly sought-after teenagers, before they’re ready to make an impact with the first team. The strategy, which was most obviously on display when Real Madrid bought Vinicius Jr. from Brasileiro club Flamengo for £40 million pounds in 2017 when he was only 17 years old. However, since then, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Barçelona and Bayern Munich have followed suit.

Over the last eighteen months, Manchester United joined the trend, dolling out expensive fees to teenagers who’ve yet to make for the club. They bought Atalanta’s Amad Diallo for £19.3 million, Peñarol’s Facundo Pellistri for £9 million, and AS Monaco’s Hannibal Mejbri for £5 million in recent seasons, and hiring Walker seems to be an indication that the club intends to continue this strategy moving forward. In fact, sources tell ESPN that promises of further investments of this kind were a key component in convincing Walker to join United.

This focus on youth will not grant Walker much time or leeway, however. Manchester United is one of the historic clubs of world soccer, and the expectation is to win the Premier League every year. That has become increasingly difficult in recent years with the rise of Manchester City, who has established itself as one of the dominant forces in England as well. Pep Guardiola’s City-side is loaded with young, dynamic, and attacking talents, and should be poised to make a serious run at repeating as Premier League champions. United will also have to contend with Liverpool, and Jurgen Klopp’s ferocious attack that’s paired with a world class defense. And, of course, there is Chelsea, where Thomas Tuchel’s side is running high off of their recent UEFA Champions’ League victory.

The sledding will be tough for Thomas Walker in his first season at United, but nobody knows that better than him.

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Gameplay Rules

Premier League Roster Rules
25 Registered Players at a time
Maximum of 17 Non-homegrown players, defined as played who joined United after the age of 18, or are of UK or Irish descent.

Scouting Rules
Three Scouts Allowed
One must scout England, One the British Isles, One From Precedent
Manchester United Precedent Countries Include; Netherlands, Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Poland, France and Spain. Precedent country may be added if story dictates.

Transfer Rules
Max Transfer Rating = 88 if in Champions League, 85 if in Europa League, 82 if in Neither
Max one transfer per year with more than one year contract remaining
Strict negotiations
Selling players must be storyline realistic
May not sell English players to Non-English teams

Youth Academy Rules
Can only sign four youth academy players in a season
Must sign Youth Academy players at the beginning of the season they turn 18
Must sign at least two Youth Academy players each year
Any Youth Academy player that exceeds the maximum number per year must be transfer listed and sold immediately

Playing Time Rules
No African Players may play during AFCON (January of even number years)

Open to suggestions for more

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United Record
League Titles: 0
Domestic Cups Won: 2
Continental Cups Won: 2
Biggest Win: 7-1 vs Portsmouth F.C., September 22, 2021
Biggest Defeat: 6-0 vs Manchester City, May 14, 2022
Record Transfer Buy: £135,000,000 for Victor Osimhen
Record Transfer Sell: £55,000,000 for Julián Álvarez
Total Earnings:
P: 127
W: 88
D: 22
L: 17
GF: 303
GA: 151

Career Record
League Titles: 1
Domestic Cups Won: 2
Continental Cups Won: 1
P: 315
W: 187
D: 67
L: 61
W%: 59%

Trophies















Season Records









Manchester United Front Office

Owners: Jim Ratcliffe-led Consortium
Executive Director: Richard Arnold
Managing Director: Vacant
Head of Football Operations: John Murtough
Advisor to the Director of Football: Germán Buendía
Advisor to the Director of Football: Ralf Rangnick
Manager: Thomas Walker
Assistant Coach:
Assistant Coach:
Head of Academy: Nick Cox
Assistant Head of Academy: Jack Adams
Under-21’s Head Coach: Jay Banks
Under-18’s Head Coach: Dylan Jackson
Chief Scout: Vacant
Head of Youth Scouting: Joey Johnson
Head of Scouting: Walter King
Assistant Head of Scouting: Vacant
Head of Player Development: Nathan Moore
Head of Player Recruitment: David White

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Trophies

Season Records

2022-23 Season Preview: Link Season Recap: Link Preseason Roster: Link Final Roster: Link Final Statistics: Link League Position: 2nd, 83 Points FA Cup Finish: Finals, Defeated Wolverhampton 3-1, May 13, 2023 EFL Cup Finish: Finals, Defeated Leicester City 3-1, Feb. 26, 2023 UCL Finish: Finals, Lost to Liverpool 4-3, May 27, 2023 Biggest Win: 7-1 vs Mansfield Town, September 21, 2022 Biggest Defeat: 0-5 vs Leeds, November 26, 2022 P: 67 W: 47 D: 13 L: 7 GF: 151 GA: 65 Incoming Transfers: Maxence Lacroix (£45m), Oumar Solet (£15m), Carney Chukwuemeka (£10m), Renato Sanches (£3.25m loan fee), Sam Johnstone (Free) Outgoing Transfers: Harry Maguire (£31.5m), Victor Lindelöf (£26.1m), Dean Henderson (£25m), Eric Bailly (£16m), Patrick Nicol (£3.5m), Reece Devine (£1.05m), Dylan Levitt (£300k), Matěj Kovář (£150k), D'Mani Mellor (£75k) Profit: £419,294,096 2021-22 Season Preview: Link Season Recap: Link Preseason Roster: Link Final Roster: Link Final Statistics: Link League Position: 3rd, 78 Points FA Cup Finish: Finals, Lost to Manchester City 6-0, May 14, 2022 EFL Cup Finish: Quarter Finals, Lost to Chelsea 2-1, Dec. 22, 2021 UCL Finish: Finals, Defeated Bayern Munich 3-3(6-5), May 28, 2022 Biggest Win: 7-1 vs Portsmouth F.C., September 22, 2021 Biggest Defeat: 0-6 vs Manchester City, May 14, 2022 P: 60 W: 41 D: 10 L: 9 GF: 152 GA: 86 Incoming Transfers: Jadon Sancho (£73m), Raphaël Varane (£34m), Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.86m), Daniel Hanssen (£4.2m), Ove Hanssen (£800k), Dave Howie (£3.8m), Julián Álvarez (£18.6m), Godwin Bada (£8.5m), Selim Ali (£450k) Outgoing Transfers: Daniel James (£25m), Andreas Pereira (£8.6m), Jesse Lingard (£15.4m), Juan Mata (£5.9m) Profit: £315,983,688

Player of the Month

Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year Award
2021/22 - Cristiano Ronaldo
2022/23 - Cristiano Ronaldo

Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year Award
2021/22 - Shola Shoretire
2022/23 - Toby Collyer

Jimmy Murphy Youth Team Player of the Year Award
2021/22 - Arthur MacKie
2022/23 - Daniel Hanssen

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