Manchester United may have a new ‘baby-faced assassin’ in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s daughter Karna, who Manchester United Women boss Marc Skinner hailed as a ‘wonderful finisher’.
Solskjaer snr was given the nickname because of his killer instinct in front of goal during his time at Old Trafford and it appears he may have passed on the trait.
Karna, 19, came off the bench in the 87th minute to make her United debut in the club’s FA Cup fourth-round victory over Bridgwater on Sunday, with both of her parents watching on from the stands.
Manchester United may have a new ‘baby face assassin’ in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s daughter Karna (pictured)
The youngster, a striker like her father, didn’t get many touches of the ball in the closing stages but her manager is excited by the potential she has.
‘Honestly, if you watch some of her finishes from this season, she’s got a wonderful, wonderful finishing ability,’ said Skinner.
‘She has a wonderful physical stature, I didn’t realise how tall Ole was until I met him in person.
‘She’s an extremely tall player. She does play slightly differently to Ole in terms of she does, for our U21s, tend to play in a wider situation and come into the box.
Manchester United boss Marc Skinner believes Karna has similar traits to her dad Ole
‘But what she does have and, I want to make sure Ole tries to pass these secrets on, she has a wonderful finishing ability.
‘But I’ve always found with the wonderful finishers, it’s how they calm their mind and see the opportunity rather than the obstacle.
‘Ole was wonderful at doing that and I think Karna has that same trait. I think they’ve learned it, I think it’s a learned trait.
‘She has a calmness in finding the right spaces to finish. What we need to add to her is just the speed of play, get her up to when do you run in behind, when do you expose the back-line when do you play in to feet and play?
‘It’s just joining her in that faster-paced game because she can from the sides, but I think she has that ability to finish in the box. I want to make sure she’s in the right spaces to finish.
Skinner has confirmed the 19-year-old is likely to return to the under-21s this week
‘She’s quite a quiet character and I think that’s just going to take a bit of time for her to be in and around that and trust and believe in herself.’
Skinner also said that the former United boss works with his daughter on finishing and that his experiences of playing and managing at the highest level will help prepare Karna for the media attention she is likely to receive.
‘I know often they work together in terms of he gives his secrets in how he would finish and she’s a really excellent finisher. I’m pretty sure Ole and the family are well versed in what’s needed to prepare [for the media attention] and we will do that.
‘Ole is a wonderful character and has obviously been a wonderful player and manager for this club and means so much to it.
‘But Karna is her own person and it’s not right, and I know Ole more importantly would [say] “it’s not about me, it’s about Karna”. He’d be a wonderful [person] to help educate her.’
United play Chelsea in the semi-final of the Continental Cup on Wednesday but Skinner confirmed Solskjaer is likely to be back with the U21s, who also have a fixture.
‘We’re trying to bring them up at the right moment. It’s making sure she has a balance between getting playing time and then exposure to playing with us as well.’