Ralf Rangnick has accused Manchester United chiefs of wrecking their Champions League hopes by failing to buy a striker in January.
Interim boss Ragnick revealed he told the United board of the need to sign a striker before the transfer deadline, but was told by the board it was not possible to do a deal. That was despite Rangnick identifying three strikers - Luis Diaz, Julian Alvarez and Dusan Vlahovic - who United could have signed had the board decided to take the plunge.
Rangnick said it was obvious United needed another striker with Anthony Martial on loan at Sevilla, Mason Greenwood suspended and Edinson Cavani unreliable, fitness-wise. “We lost three strikers, long-term,” said Rangnick. “We should have tried to sign a player in the 48 hours we had, since we knew Mason wouldn’t be available and Anthony had already left on loan.
“We were also aware Edinson might not be available for eight out of 10 games, but we didn’t do it. There were a few: Diaz, who is now at Liverpool; Alvarez, who will be at Manchester City in the summer; and Vlahovic, who at the time was still with Fiorentina.
“The answer was 'no' and that was it. I spoke to the board and told them 'shouldn’t we at least speak and analyse and find if we can at least get a player, on loan or a permanent deal?'
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"In the end the answer was 'no'. Maybe they didn’t want to do any winter business. Maybe we should have at least discussed it internally, because it might be necessary and important. It would have been short notice anyway but still, 48 hours is 48 hours. It might have been at least worth a try. But we didn’t and it wasn't done.”
United were reluctant to sign a striker because of the short timeframe available. They also did not want to sign a forward, knowing a new permanent manager was arriving in the summer and may not want that player.
The Old Trafford hierarchy also felt they had five or six players able to play through the middle, including Jesse Lingard, who was prevented from going on loan to stay as cover because of the lack of forward options.
