Topics: Manchester United, Christopher Nkunku, Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez, Premier League, Josko Gvardiol, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, RB Leipzig, Alvaro Morata, Dusan Vlahovic, Luis Diaz
Ralf Rangnick reportedly made cases for up to nine elite players to come on board at Manchester United during his tenure.
Following the Red Devils’ dismissal of Ole Gunner Solskjær, Rangnick was appointed interim manager on 29 November 2021.
Following his short period at the helm of United, the 65-year-old was due to continue in a consultancy role for a further two years. On 2 December 2021, the German’s work permit was approved and in his first game in charge, he helped guide the side to a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
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However, following a 4-0 loss to Liverpool later in the season, Ragnick expressed that United needed to heavily invest in the upcoming transfer window.
He believed that his temporary team were “six years behind” Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, and that United would need to conduct ‘open-heart’ surgery if they wanted to grace the top of the Premier League table again.
After steering the club to sixth place, Rangnick ended up leaving the consultancy role on the table to became the manager of the Austrian national team.
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However, during his time at United, the former VfR Heilbronn player supposedly put nine “realistic” transfer targets to the board.
One of which was 25-year-old Christopher Nkunku, who of course signed with Chelsea from RB Leipzig this summer.
The second and third were Manchester City duo, Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland. Both ended up signing with Pep Guardiola’s squad ahead of last season.
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Another recent City signing which Rangnick had his eye on was Josko Gvardiol.
This summer, the 21-year-old was reported to have become the second most expensive defender in the world after his transfer fee was reported at around £77 million.
A fifth player Rangnick wanted to bring to Old Trafford was Austrian midfielder Konrad Laimer.
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Like Nkunku and Josko, the 26-year-old was plying his trade at RB Leipzig until this summer transfer window. However, Laimer now plays under Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich.
Spanish captain Alvaro Morato, and Blues midfielder Enzo Fernandez were two more players which Rangnick believed could improve United’s chances.
Much like the rest of the world at the time, the German was also after Dusan Vlahovic after he was awarded the Serie A Best Young Player award.
However the latter signed for Juventus in January 2022 on a four-and-a-half-year contract worth £60m.
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The final name on Rangnick’s list was Liverpool winger Luis Diaz. However, instead of opting for Manchester United, the star signed for United’s rivals in a deal worth £37.5m.
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