Manchester United have recovered from their early season blip and are currently only three points behind third-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League table with a game in hand.
They are currently on a six-game unbeaten streak and have picked up wins over arch-rivals Liverpool, league leaders Arsenal as well as Spurs.
The summer recruits have played a huge role in United’s upturn in form with Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Antony impressing one and all.
ETH has done a fine job so far
Martinez has revolutionised the defence while Casemiro has added bite in the centre of the park. Eriksen’s guile and Antony’s pace have also proved for United.
Ralf Rangnick’s recommendations to the board before he left:
– Julian Alvarez in January
– Laimer
– Nkunku before he signed a new contract
– Josko Gvardiol as a “must-buy”.[Samuel Luckhurst] pic.twitter.com/jH6vAxZvMI
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) August 9, 2022
But things could have been much different if interim manager Ralf Rangnick had remained on board as the consultant, which had been agreed in the contract when he was appointed.
The German did not enjoy the best of times as manager as he ultimately guided the Red Devils to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League last season.
But it was his skill as a sporting director which had impressed the Red Devils in the first place. And the German had prepared a six-man shortlist for the club to pursue if he would have remained on board as the consultant.
The list included two huge stars which were considered to be realistic targets according to Rangnick. He spoke to Bild regarding the transfer activity he had planned.
He had admitted that United needed a major overhaul of the squad after overseeing training for half the season.
“There was no such dossier, and it was never wanted by the club,” he was quoted as saying about his rumoured assessment of the Manchester United squad. “But even without such a script, it was clear to everyone that there was a need in many areas.”
Rangnick’s transfer plans
The realistic targets,according to Rangnick, are certainly players who could have changed the way United play.
“That’s why we were already discussing players like Josko Gvardiol and Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig. Those were names that were realistic.”
Gvardiol was a Chelsea target in the summer while Nkunku has multiple clubs baulking at his current price tag even though the want to buy the RB Leipzig star.
“We also talked about Alvaro Morata, Luis Diaz, Dusan Vlahovic and, as I said, Haaland when they were still on the market. But the club decided at that time to rebuild the team under the new coach.”
Ten Hag’s recruits have not done too badly either and now the Dutch boss will be hoping for more backing going forward as he seeks to return United to the top of the English footballing pyramid.
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