Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Man Utd urged to fix past error by replacing Ralf Rangnick with surprise name

Man Utd manager Ralf Rangnick

One pundit has told Man Utd to replace Ralf Rangnick with a surprise manager from the Premier League.

Rangnick joined the Red Devils on November 29 to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He arrived with a big reputation thanks to his famous ‘gegenpressing’ style and influence on the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel.

It has not been plain sailing for the German, however. He has faced criticism as some Man Utd players are struggling to adapt to his methods.

Rangnick is still trying to figure out his best team, leading to Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes spending some time on the bench.

The manager has also had a public disagreement with forward Anthony Martial. He claimed the Frenchman wanted to be left out for the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, something the player has since denied.

Man Utd were eyeing several other managers before Rangnick’s arrival, most notably Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane.

They were also linked with Antonio Conte as Solskjaer came under pressure, although the serial winner went on to join Tottenham.

Alex Telles ready to leave Manchester United for Barcelona

Alex Telles ready to leave Manchester United for Barcelona

Alex Telles is wanted by Barcelona and Manchester United are open to letting the left back go if a decent offer comes in

Pundit Frank McAvennie thinks United need to appoint someone similar to legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson. And he reckons Conte should be brought in, despite the Italian’s fairly recent arrival in north London.

“What Man United need is someone like Fergie,” McAvennie told Football Insider. “They need someone who can manage everything at the club from the squad to transfers to everything else.

“It needs to be one man. It didn’t work for Fergie at first, he nearly got sacked right before it started to click. Then look what happened. The discipline was there all the way through the club.

“Can you imagine these players under Fergie? Other than Ronaldo they would all crumble.

“They needed to get Conte when they had the chance, that’s a man you build a club around. That’s exactly what he’s not getting at Tottenham so it wouldn’t surprise me if he left and joined them, quite soon as well.”

Update on Man Utd player’s future

Meanwhile, Newcastle could miss out on transfer target Jesse Lingard as the Englishman is reportedly considering a move elsewhere.

Lingard, 29, is on just 88 minutes of Premier League action so far this term. His sparkling loan spell with West Ham last season suggested he might be given a chance back at Old Trafford. However, neither Solskjaer or Rangnick have seen fit to up Lingard’s game-time.

And with just six months left on his deal, a parting of ways appears increasingly likely this month.

Rather than a straight sale though, United are preparing to listen to loan offers for the player. As such, Newcastle on Wednesday launched a £2m bid for his services, as well as covering the entirity of his £75,000-a-week salary.

However, talkSPORT reports that opening offer has been rejected by the Red Devils. Indeed, they are reportedly seeking a fee of £3.5m to take the player on loan.

As such, Newcastle are ready to meet United’s demands and pay the full £3.5m asking price.

However, their hopes of signing him appear far from cut and dried. Multiple reports state that Lingard is instead willing to wait for a return to West Ham, where he impressed on loan last campaign.

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