Three players Solskjaer can be expected to bring to Cardiff

With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now officially appointed as the next Cardiff manager and with a reported £25m kitty at his disposal, some new arrivals are pretty much guaranteed in the January window to strengthen their battle against relegation.

Numerous managers tend to raid their former clubs for at least one player when first appointed, with Roberto Martinez returning to Wigan for James McCarthy, Joel Robles, Antolin Alcaraz and Arouna Kone in the summer at Everton.

Solskjaer is unlikely to go quite to such lengths at re-acquainting himself with members of the current Molde squad, but Mats Moller Daehli and Vegard Forren are two players that could follow from Norway.

Daehli is still only 18, but he is already regarded as one of the best talents to come out of Norway for some time, even being fast-tracked through the under-19 setup and then the under 21s to have been picked for the full national team.

Solskjaer himself has compared Daehli’s talent level to that of Adnan Januzaj, although the teenage Norwegian’s game is more based around controlling the flow of a match, rather than taking on opponents in the final third.

Should he join and be a success at Cardiff, it could be another hard one for Man Utd supporters to take, as like Juventus star Paul Pogba, the Red Devils allowed Daehli to go to Molde because of the improved first-team opportunities.

Another Molde player who could make a difference in Wales is Vegard Forren, who may be more well known among Premier League followers after a failed stint at Southampton, where he was frozen out when Mauricio Pochettino replaced Nigel Adkins.

It is interesting to note Molde’s fluctuations when Forren departed, as their league position substantially dipped without him.

A new central defender would not go amiss at Cardiff either, with the Bluebirds having conceded 10 goals in their last four Premier League outings.

A third probable Cardiff signing is another that represents a Nordic nation but is currently plying his trade in Holland.

Alfred Finnbogason has scored over 40 goals in his first 50 appearances for Heerenveen and although goals in the Dutch league have not always equated to more in the Premier League, this record is still to be respected.