Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reveals how one game in 1996 changed the course of his entire career and meant he joined Man Utd over second tier Wolves

Norway took on lowly Azerbaijan in a 1998 World Cup qualifier in June 1996, a game in which Solskjaer started alongside Frank Strandli. Solskjaer scored twice in a 5-0 home triumph in Olso and his performance on the frontline caught the eye of then Manchester United assistant Jim Ryan, who was in attendance in order to specifcally observe centre-back Ronny Johnsen.

But United weren't the only side with a scouting presence, with then Wolves boss Mark McGhee also watching on. The west midlands side, who at the time weren't even playing in the Premier League, were on the lookout for a new striker and it was Solskjaer catching their eye.

However, Wolves missed out to United, in what was a significant sliding doors moment for both player and club. He has labelled that day against Azerbaijan one of the most "important" games of his career.

Speaking with Kelly Somers for BBC Sport, Solskjaer was asked about the first time he knew there would be a possibility he'd be playing in England, to which the former striker replied: "So, for Norway, this is probably one of the most important games in my career. We played Norway against Azerbaijan and I scored two very good goals.

"Coincidentally, Jim Ryan - the [United] assistant manager - was watching Ronny Johnsen, who we signed. He was sitting next to Mark McGhee, who at that time was Wolverhampton manager, chatting as they do.

"Mark McGhee is looking for a centre-forward, Jim Ryan's watching the game and I score two goals. So he thinks, 'OK, Wolverhampton will probably sign this boy'. He rang Sir Alex [Ferguson] that night and said: 'I think I found one and he won't be expensive. It's a cheap one, but we've got to be quick because Wolverhampton are also signing a centre-forward.' It went really, really fast."

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Host Somers then suggested it must have been a "whirlwind" for Solskjaer, to which he replied: "Brilliant. Absolutely top. But then you're never 100% sure until you signed the deal.

"But I more or less knew, so before my last game for Molde, I said to Age Hareide, who was the coach, that if I scored, I'm going to take my shirt off, throw it into the stands and run off the pitch. He said: 'No, you can't do that... but [if you have to] wait until 10 minutes before full-time.' That's exactly what happened.

"I think I scored a fifth goal, 5-1, and I just threw the shirt and ran off the pitch and we had no subs ready to come on, so we had to play a few minutes with 10 men. It was a whirlwind of a time. The media were outside my apartment. They wanted interviews and I just tried to stay away from all that."

And when asked about handling the whole new level of fame, Solskjaer said: "Of course. Because 18 months before Manchester United, I played for Clausenengen, my local team, in front of 50 people, so it was a big step up in attention. But I think I've been quite OK in handling these situations."

Solskjaer's move to Old Trafford caught many supporters of guard as the club pushed to sign Alan Shearer from Blackburn. Shearer ultimately signed for boyhood club Newcastle that same summer, making the switch to St. James' Park for a then-world record fee of £15 million.

The 'Baby Faced Assasin' would go on to cement himself as a United legend, however, as he won the Premier League six times and scored the winning goal in their 2-1 Champions League triumph over Bayern Munich in Barcelona in 1999.

Solskjaer then went on to manage United between 2018 and 2021, and was most recently manager of Besiktas, though he lasted just eight months in Istanbul following their failure to secure European football in August. He is, however, interested in returning to management again.