Ex-Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick's sage advice on transfers seems more pertinent than ever following Erik ten Hag's recent dealings in the market.
Despite the support of new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has provided both a vote of confidence with a contract extension and a hefty transfer kitty of just under £200million, Ten Hag's third season at the helm has begun disastrously.
With a meagre tally of two victories from six matches and suffering twin 3-0 humiliations at the hands of arch-rivals Liverpool and, more recently, Tottenham, the recruitment strategy at Old Trafford appears to be faltering still.
Newcomers such as Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte, despite being early in their United careers, have not yet made a significant impact.
Rangnick, during his tenure, gave a candid assessment, acknowledging that the club required a thorough overhaul and that any new acquisitions had to be carefully chosen, top-quality, and a perfect fit to bridge the gap with the frontrunners of the league. This cautionary statement, it seems, has gone unheeded, reports the Mirror.
"If you look at those two clubs who are currently dominating the Premier League [Manchester City and Liverpool], they did exactly that [rebuild]," Rangnick pointed out in 2022 following a 4-0 drubbing by Liverpool.
"They brought in two managers, but not only did they bring in two managers, but they also changed the whole thing with regard to formation and what kind of players we need. I mean, the headline of everything was, 'how do we want to play.' The team needs a rebuild, and therefore, for me, it's clear that there will be six, seven, eight, maybe ten new players.
"Before you sign those players, you need to be aware of who you want to play and what kind of football the new manager wants to play. Then, take it from there. Bring every single player fitting into that kind of profile."
Alas, the United board did not heed this advice, and Rangnick's tenure ended with him moving on to the Austrian national team set-up in April. Rangnick was candid about the board's reluctance to pursue certain attacking players, even naming those he believed would have made a difference.
"The answer at the time was: 'No, there is no player on the market that would really help us'," Rangnick revealed in May 2022. "But, there were a few, there were a few.
"[Luis] Diaz, who is now at Liverpool, [Julian] Alvarez who will be at Manchester City this summer, [Dusan] Vlahovic, who at the time still was with Fiorentina, so. Those are just three of them of them that come across my mind now.
"I spoke to the board and said: 'Shouldn't we at least speak and try and analyse if we could get a player either on loan or as a permanent deal?' But in the end, the answer was no."
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Rangnick's remarks have resurfaced on social media after United's disappointing start to the season and the heavy defeat by Spurs, with supporters quick to commend his foresight.
One fan succinctly put it: "This man knew the problem," while another voiced their concern: "Man Utd signings have been horrendous. It's more like a player having a breakout season and Man Utd decides to buy him. I don't think there's any pre analysis over what kinda player is needed."
Another supporter suggested that Rangnick should have been given more time at the helm, commenting: "Should have stuck with this man and got rid of the rot in the players."