Ex-Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick's sage advice on transfers is echoing through Old Trafford with Erik ten Hag's latest recruitment drive having failed to stem the tide of underwhelming performances. Despite a vote of confidence and hefty financial investment from new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, which included a contract extension and a war chest of nearly £200million, Ten Hag's third season at the helm has kicked off disastrously.
The Red Devils have stumbled out of the gate with just two victories in six matches, including humiliating 3-0 defeats to arch-rivals Liverpool and, more recently, Tottenham. New signings such as Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte, despite their potential, have not yet made a significant impact.
During his tenure, Rangnick issued a stark assessment, conceding that the club required a thorough overhaul and that any new acquisitions must be carefully chosen and fitting to bridge the gap with the Premier League's front-runners. His wise words, following a crushing 4-0 loss to Liverpool in 2022, still seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
"If you look at those two clubs who are currently dominating the Premier League [Manchester City and Liverpool], they did exactly that [rebuild]," Rangnick had declared post-defeat.
"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 as he moved on to the Austrian national team set-up in April. Upon his departure, Rangnick didn't hold back on the board's reluctance to secure offensive reinforcements, candidly naming the players 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.
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"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'." As United fumbles early this season, drawing criticism for their lacklustre performances, fans have plastered Rangnick's observations across social media,the Mirror reports.
One supporter stated: "This man knew the problem," while another lamented: "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." A third argued that Rangnick should have been awarded a longer tenure at Old Trafford by writing: "Should have stuck with this man and got rid of the rot in the players."