Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Manchester United, Transfer News, Premier League, Ralf Rangnick, Erik Ten Hag, Liverpool, Manchester City
Luke Davies
Topics: Manchester United, Transfer News, Premier League, Ralf Rangnick, Erik Ten Hag, Liverpool, Manchester City
Former Manchester United interim head coach Ralf Rangnick has already revealed how he wanted to sign six huge names during his tenure at the club, but the Red Devils’ board refused to sanction the transfers.
Rangnick, 66, replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as head coach of Man United on an interim basis in November 2021.
The now-Austria national team head coach was and still is held in high regard by elite managers such as Jurgen Klopp, who previously described him as an “outstanding coach” while England boss Thomas Tuchel credited him with having “opened” his eyes to new tactics during his playing career.
“Everything was brand new from that moment, it changed how I watched football games on television,” Tuchel told Sky Sports in 2021.
“He was very, very demanding, he made us over-perform as a team.”
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And despite his obvious respectable pedigree Rangnick’s time at United did not go entirely to plan with the German winning ten, drawing seven and losing seven of his 24 Premier League matches in charge of the club.
He left the club having steered them to a sixth-place finish in the 2021/22 campaign before being replaced by Erik ten Hag that summer.
However, things could have been very different for Rangnick if he had secured six 'dream' signings during his time at the helm.
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The 66-year-old named the players during an interview with German outlet BILD in 2022.
“There was no such [transfer] dossier, and it was never wanted by the club,” said Rangnick.
“That's why we were already discussing players like Josko Gvardiol and Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig. Those were names that were realistic.
"We also talked about Alvaro Morata, Luis Diaz, Dusan Vlahovic and… Erling Haaland when they were still on the market.
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"But the club decided at that time to rebuild the team under the new coach."
Four of the six players mentioned have since moved to the Premier League with Diaz joining Liverpool, Gvardiol and Haaland signing for Manchester City, while Nkunku arrived at Chelsea in the summer of 2023.
Instead United welcomed Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro and Antony in the summer after Rangnick exited the club.