Aberdeen won’t be moving for Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen after a bizarre link emerged days before they face Celtic, the Press and Journal reports.
The Hoops are due to face the Norwegian champions in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night in our last-32 first-leg clash. However, oddly, there has been some talk recently about Knutsen being in the frame for the Aberdeen job.
The Daily Record listed him as one of the candidates for the role and stated he would likely be the favoured option for Aberdeen fans.
However, the Press and Journal state that Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack and Director of Football Steven Gunn have drawn up a list of 4 to 6 candidates. Knutsen isn’t said to be on it.
The report claims that Aberdeen have approached St Mirren to attempt to speak to Jim Goodwin. However, the Record reports that their enquiry has been rejected.
But it certainly looks as though Knutsen won’t be in the frame in what certainly would’ve been an unusual career move for him.
Kjetil Knutsen to Aberdeen would make absolutely no sense
It’s certainly a fun talking point, but it’s difficult to take it too seriously. With all due respect to Aberdeen, they’re hardly the logical next step in Knutsen’s managerial ladder.
We’re talking about a manager whose reputation is growing swiftly after 2 back-to-back title wins with Bodo/Glimt. A manager who successfully ripped Jose Mourinho’s Roma apart and has managed to become known as a tactician capable of rebuilding top-quality teams from scrap.
His eyes will be set a lot higher up than a move to Pittodrie. After all, what on earth does he really have to work with there? He has more chance of making Bodo/Glimt a European powerhouse than he would if he went to the Granite City.
It would’ve been potentially interesting to see how Bodo/Glimt would’ve coped with uncertainty surrounding their manager combined with the fact they won’t be up to full speed just yet.
But the reality is Knutsen likely hasn’t even given this potential option a thought. You’d be lucky if he’s even aware of it in fact. There’s absolutely no reason for him to even consider a backwards step to what’s a total mess of a football club at the moment.
It’ll be interesting to see who the Dons do indeed go for. But for now? Knutsen has a big Parkhead date to look forward to.
In other news, Celtic striker Jonathan Afolabi explains why he jumped at new loan opportunity
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