Ralf Rangnick is expected to become Manchester United’s interim manager, but it is his potential role at Old Trafford beyond this season which could majorly benefit the club long-term.
The 63-year-old German is currently the manager of sports and development for Lokomotiv Moscow, and United are working to prise him away from the Russian club.
A six-month spell in charge of United’s first team could await Rangnick, and it is believed the club’s board would then like him to remain in a consultancy role.
Rangnick nurtured Thomas Tuchel at Stuttgart and Julian Nagelsmann at RB Leipzig, making him an ideal mentor for United’s permanent appointment in the summer, while his track record in the transfer market means his presence could seriously bolster their recruitment process as well.
This nous was present back at Hoffenheim, and was then central to RB Leipzig’s rise when spearheading the Red Bull revolution as their sporting director from 2012 to 2019, a spell which also featured two stints as head coach.
Here are five names who benefited from Rangnick’s keen eye for talent.
Roberto Firmino
This one goes way back, with Roberto Firmino’s first foray into European football coming in Germany 10 years ago when joining Hoffenheim for just £3.6m.
Rangnick was Hoffenheim coach at the time, although it was ultimately the briefest of overlaps given he resigned one day after Firmino officially joined because the club sold defender Luiz Gustavo to Bayern Munich.
Nevertheless, Rangnick was key to scouting Firmino, and after four-and-a-half seasons and 47 goals in 151 games at Hoffenheim, Liverpool paid a fee close to £29m – a relative bargain given his contributions since 2015.
Sadio Mane
That makes two of Liverpool’s revered front three. Rangnick paid just £3.6m for the Senegal international seven years ago when signing a 20-year-old Mane for Salzburg from French club Metz.
Salzburg fall under the Red Bull group along with Leipzig, and Rangnick was initially the sporting director of both clubs when joining the setup in 2012. He is therefore widely credited for the Austrian club’s desire to develop young players, with Mane – who eventually joined Liverpool from Southampton for £34m in 2016 – no exception.
“[Jurgen] Klopp doesn’t have to thank me,” Rangnick said two years ago. “It’s definitely no coincidence he has four former players of mine [Firmino, Naby Keita, Mane and Joel Matip] because it shows that he is, in fact, looking for the same kind of players, with the same assets, with the same mentality as we do.”
Erling Haaland
The praise goes both ways between Rangnick and Klopp. “That started back with him,” Klopp said of Salzburg’s onus to blood young players ahead of their Champions League meeting with Liverpool.
Mane opened the scoring that night against his former side in 2019, while also on target in that 4-3 thriller was a 19-year-old Haaland.
Set to become Europe’s most-wanted player in the summer when the €75m (£63.1m) release clause in his Borussia Dortmund contract becomes active, Haaland left his native Norway for just £7.2m in 2019 when joining Salzburg from Molde. This was the legacy Rangnick left at Red Bull’s clubs, the ability the buy low, sell high, and prosper from the burgeoning talent in between.
Joshua Kimmich
Perhaps Rangnick’s greatest bargain was Kimmich, who joined Leipzig from Stuttgart for €500,000 (£420k) in 2013 at the age of 18.
Stuttgart cannily included a buy-back clause and used this to their advantage when agreeing to sell him to Bayern Munich for €7m (£5.9m) having needed just the agreed €750,000 (£630k) to bring him back from Leipzig.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Rangnick said. “He came to us and within two years has become a regular for Bayern and Germany.” Six Bundesliga titles and one Champions League medal later, Kimmich’s market value is now £81m per transfermarkt.
Timo Werner
“There are two things that make him perfect: he is one of the fastest strikers in Europe and he has an incredible goal ratio, at every level… and you pick the right pass, it is almost impossible to stop him.” Rangnick told i last year, having overseen Werner’s development in Germany.
Werner joined Leipzig from Stuttgart for €10m (£8.4m) in 2016, then a club record, with Rangnick saying at the time: “He’s a very ambitious player, who’s always looking to improve and can pose any opponent problems with his pace.”
That rang true, and “Turbo Tim” terrorised defences in Germany before Chelsea decided to pay €50m (£45m) for the forward in 2020, once more earning Leipzig another tidy profit.
What it means for Man Utd
Should Rangnick bring what appears to be his transfer golden touch to Old Trafford, then he may well be leaned on heavily in the summer when United are looking for players to freshen up their squad.
His ability to spot young talent could make for a beneficial long-term strategy, but there will also be an expectation to sign players who deliver right away.
With United potentially looking for a centre forward, this could be one key area and the fact Rangnick helped unearth Firmino, Mane, Haaland and Werner should only work in their favour, while his ability to land a bargain could please the hierarchy as well.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3CRAyDl
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