Manchester United interim coach Ralf Rangnick has risked upsetting the club’s hierarchy as he has highlighted incoming boss Erik ten Hag’s priority list at the club.
United confirmed the appointment of the Dutchman last month after the 52-year-old met with United bosses in March to talk about becoming their new manager on a permanent basis. The current Ajax coach has signed a contract until June 2025 with an option of a further year.
Ten Hag faces a huge opening summer transfer window at the club with upwards of half-a-dozen players exiting the first-team squad at Old Trafford with multiple incomings needed to replenish the ranks. Outgoing boss Rangnick has already gone on record for his keenness to “exchange opinions” with his replacement about which players should be part of his plans going forward.
The Dutchman has impressed in Amsterdam but faces a huge task to get United firing again. Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Edinson Cavani will all be leaving the club as free agents this summer.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Rangnick explained that United’s players appeared to be happy on the pitch during their recent win over Brentford, before moving on to the future of the club: “I think it was visible against Brentford, which is not just my subjective opinion but you could see the players enjoyed themselves on the pitch. That does not mean everything was perfect but in possession we were controlling the game.
“With regard to next season, there will quite obviously be some changes. There are players whose contracts are expiring. With the right new players joining us here plus the players who are here with longer-term contracts there is reason for hope.
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“This is something that needs to be discussed between Erik and the board. Erik needs to tell the board which players he wants to work with. I am positive with the right new players and existing players, the pathway could be a very positive one.”
Rangnick recently upsetted the Old Trafford hierarchy by outlining that United were six years behind rivals Liverpool and would need up to 10 new players to help them reach the level they need to be at. After the four-goal loss at Anfield, Rangnick said: “There will be a rebuild for sure but that does not help us when we still have five games to play. If you analyse the situation it is not difficult to analyse. For me, it is clear there will be six, seven, eight, maybe ten new players.”
