Following the official announcement of Ralf Ragnick as Manchester United’s Interim Manager until the end of the season, with an extended two-year consultancy role at Old Trafford past the end of the current campaign, we take a look at three players that we expect Rangnick to sign, as well as three players that the 63-year-old German will want at United.
3 Players we Expect Rangnick to Sign & 3 Players he Will Want
3 Players we Expect Rangnick to Sign & 3 Players he Will Want
3 Players we Expect Rangnick to Sign
Amadou Haidara - RB Leipzig
Reports have suggested that boyhood United fan Amadou Haidara may be Rangnick’s first signing as Interim Manager of the Old Trafford club.
The 23-year-old Malian midfielder is known for his high work rates across the midfield and can play a multitude of roles, as a right-midfielder, as well as a defensive midfielder and was signed by Rangnick at Red Bull Salzburg prior to his transfer across to Leipzig.
Haidara has shown his capabilities at both sides he has played for at senior level, as he helped Salzburg to the Europa League semi-finals in the 2017/18 campaign and will be a familiar face to United fans, having scored in Leipzig’s 3-2 win over the Red Devils that ultimately knocked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side out of the Champions League group stages last season. The Bamako-born midfielder reportedly has a release clause of £33m.
Dusan Vlahovic - Fiorentina
Fiorentina forward Dusan Vlahovic looks likely to be available in the January transfer window, with United linked to being monitoring the 21-year-old Serbian who has confirmed that he won’t be extending his contract which expires at the Italian club at the end of the 2022/23 season.
The Belgrade-born striker has fired in seven goals in 14 caps for his country and has been in incredible form at the start of the current season having found the back of the net 11 times in 14 appearances, as well as creating three assists. With Vlahovic being a young promising striker, there is room to develop the Serbian’s game and with Edinson Cavani’s contract at Old Trafford expiring at the end of the season, there will be room for a new striker to join the club.
Kieran Trippier - Atletico Madrid
Kieran Trippier is a player that has been frequently linked to United over the last 18 months or so, as it is no secret that the Old Trafford club are frustrated with the lack of attacking output down the right-hand side from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
This would likely not be a Rangnick signing, due to the fact United have courted Trippier for a lengthy period of time and the Atletico Madrid man could be an ideal signing as he has qualities that could bring out the best of Jadon Sancho on the right-wing like Achraf Hakimi did at Borussia Dortmund.
With the 31-year-old Bury-born right-backs deal at the Wanda Metropolitano expiring in 2023, there is a chance that the signature of Trippier could be done in January.
3 Players Rangnick Will Want
Nordi Mukiele - RB Leipzig
Rangnick is known for liking players that he has helped mould their career paths and Nordi Mukiele of RB Leipzig is one that may interest him with the Old Trafford club potentially looking for a new right-back as Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot have often failed to impress this season.
The 24-year-old Frenchman was signed by Rangnick for Leipzig for £13.5m from Montpellier in 2018 and has proven to be a pivotal figure in the Bundesliga sides defence and may feel hard done by that fellow teammates such as Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate have managed moves to Bayern Munich and Liverpool in his time at the club.
Mukiele’s qualities have been made evident in the Champions League and Bundesliga, meaning that Ragnick would potentially want to bring a player to Old Trafford who is proven and used to his training methods.
Erling Haaland - Borussia Dortmund
Norway and Dortmund striker Haaland is wanted by many clubs across Europe, however, could his connection with the United manager play a decisive factor in the 21-year-old joining the Old Trafford club?
Haaland has a £68m release clause in his contract at Dortmund in the summer and was actually signed by Ragnick for Salzburg in 2019 whilst the German was Red Bull’s Sporting Director. At the time, Haaland had scored 14 in 39 league matches for Molde, before being given a chance to perform in the Champions League with the Austrian Bundesliga outfit between January 2019 and December that year where he was snapped up by Dortmund for a measly fee of £17m.
Ultimately, with Haaland arguably being the hottest property in world football following the 21-year-old’s 71 goals and 19 assists in 70 games for the Signal Iduna Park club, there is no doubt that Rangnick would like to reunite the Norwegian with both Sancho and himself.
Denis Zakaria - Borussia Monchengladbach
The final player on this list is Borussia Monchengladbach defensive midfielder, Denis Zakaria.
The Switzerland international is another who has proven himself in the Champions League with Monchengladbach and has been linked with moves to the Premier League, as the 25-year-old’s contract expires at the end of the current campaign, meaning that he could be available on a cut-price deal.
Ex-BSC Young Boys man Zakaria has good athleticism and defensive awareness, hence why he has often featured as a centre-back in Gladbach’s defence and could add more balance to United’s midfield which has often lacked it across the last couple of campaigns.