“Perhaps, it is the natural step after being at such a big club. He can go far, he is an innovative coach, enthusiastic and I have a lot of time for him. We can see now a Ronny team playing football.“Celtic look like what Ronny did with Stromsgodset in Norway, you can see the rotations, the triangles, the passing and the movement.”
But Deila replied: “Football is about two things, being happy and developing with the right challenges.
“I am happy at Celtic. It is very challenging and there is more pressure here than at a lot of Premier League clubs.”
Deila and Solskjaer went head to head in title battles with Stromsgodset and Molde before both moved to the UK although the ex-Old Trafford striker lasted only eight months at Cardiff City.
He said: “It has been a healthy rivalry. He won the league in 2013, we won it in 2012 and 2011. We spoke on the phone when I was at Cardiff and when he came over to join Celtic.”
Solksjaer, however, has no intention of allowing Deila a pleasant return home. And he has taken heart from the way countryman Age Hareide’s Malmo side knocked Celtic out of the Champions League.
He said: “I watched those games closely and it is going to be a tight game again.”
