Following the firing of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the 63-year-old German is on the verge of being named as Manchester United’s new interim manager till the end of the season.
Manchester United are on the way to agreeing to an agreement that will see Ralf Rangnick take over as manager for the remainder of the season.
Following the decision to fire Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Red Devils have been on the lookout for a new head coach. The Norwegian had overseen a poor run of results, with five defeats in seven league games.
In turn, if Rangnick’s new position is confirmed, he will be faced with the monumental task of guiding United back into the title race.
Rangnick, 63, is expected to be handed the role and is set to leave his position as head of sports and development at Russian outfit Lokomotiv Moscow.
While Rangnick will only be in the Old Trafford hot-seat for the remainder of the current campaign, a two-part deal could see the former RB Leipzig boss remain in Manchester by taking on a consultancy role, with that contract stretching a further two years.
Though Rangnick is unavailable for United’s next league game – a daunting trip to league leaders Chelsea – there is hope he will be in the dugout for the visit of Arsenal the week after.
Seen as a guru among a number of football’s other elite coaches, Rangnick’s work may not be common knowledge to every member of the United faithful given the bulk of it has come in Germany.
There is cause for optimism however, as Rangnick’s tenure at RB Leipzig proves – the coach transforming them from Bundesliga also-rans to title challengers.
Rangnick has been previously dubbed the ‘the godfather of gegenpressing’, meaning United’s running statistics are likely to sky rocket after just a few games under his stewardship.
A stalwart of German football up until his move to Russia recently, Rangnick has already given United fans an insight into what to expect on the pitch from previous comments he has made on his footballing philosophy.
“Gegenpressing is a very proactive style of football, similar to the way in which Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool have been playing under [Jurgen] Klopp.
“We like to press high, with a very intense counter-pressure. When we have the ball, we do not like any square or back passes.
“The goalkeeper also should not be the one with the most contact on the ball. In almost every league and every country, the goalkeeper is technically the most limited football player on the pitch and therefore we have to make sure that he has the lowest contact with the feet.
“It is a fast, proactive, attacking, counter-attacking, counter-pressing, exciting and entertaining [style of] football.”
A number of players already at Old Trafford that were exiled under Solskjaer could view Rangnick’s arrival as a chance to revive their faltering United careers, including the likes of Donny van de Beek and Jadon Sancho.
Given Rangnick likes his teams to play at break-neck speed, Sancho and one of Marcus Rashford or Mason Greenwood on the opposite flank seems to be his best bet.
Anthony Martial may still see his game-time limited given the traits in his armoury hardly aligning with those valued by his soon-to-be new boss.
Potential Manchester United XI under Rangnick: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Varane, Shaw, Pogba, Fernandes, Van de Beek, Sancho, Ronaldo, Greenwood
Image Credit: Getty
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