Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that former Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi is training at the club in order to build up his fitness as he looks to make his next career move.
The Italian striker - who is now 31 - arrived at United in 2004 as a 17-year-old prospect and went on to win the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award at the end of his first season. He followed that up by claiming the equally-prestigious Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year prize a year later.
Rossi made his first-team debut in November 2004, during a League Cup win over Crystal Palace, and went on to score four goals in 14 senior appearances.
After a couple of loan spells at Newcastle United and Parma, Giuseppe completed a permanent transfer to Villarreal in La Liga and continued to score goals across the continent thereafter.
Rossi was released by his most recent club Genoa in the summer and Solskjaer, who played with the forward before he left the club in 2007, has invited him to build his fitness at the Aon Training Complex.
‘IF THERE ARE ANY TAKERS, BE QUICK!’
In the post-match press conference at Wembley on Sunday, following the 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, Solskjaer provided an update on Rossi's situation.
“We’re not going to sign Giuseppe I think, no, but he’s trained well with us,”
said Ole, before he revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson was impressed by his finishing.
“He looks sharp, he’s looking for a club so Giuseppe is probably going to stay with us for another week, unless someone takes him.
“He scored a fantastic goal yesterday [Saturday] in training. The gaffer [Sir Alex Ferguson] turned around and said ‘what about that son?’
“It’s a bit of us helping him to get fit before his next move, so if there are any takers you should be quick!”
Watch Solskjaer discuss Rossi and our win at Spurs in his post-match press conference.
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT ROSSI AFTER UNITED?
Giuseppe left United in 2007 to join Spanish side Villarreal, where he spent five-and-a-half years and scored 54 goals in 136 games.
During his time at the club, he was drawn against the Reds in a UEFA Champions League group-stage match in November 2008, playing for 78 minutes of a goalless draw at El Madrigal.
Rossi returned to Italy in January 2013 when he signed for Fiorentina, for whom he netted 16 goals in 33 appearances. During his time at the club, the American-born former Italy international had two loan spells in Spain.
He scored six goals in 17 matches on loan at Levante in the second half of the 2015/16 season, before spending the entire 2016/17 campaign at Celta Vigo, where he netted four goals in 18 games.
His most recent club was Serie A outfit Genoa, whom he joined in December 2017. Giuseppe netted once in 10 appearances before leaving at the end of the 2017/18 season and is now currently a free agent.
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