Manchester United

Manchester United: Some fans laugh off links with former RB Leipzig manager Ralf Rangnick

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Image for Manchester United: Some fans laugh off links with former RB Leipzig manager Ralf Rangnick

Some Manchester United fans are not too confident about the club’s recent links with former RB Leipzig manager Ralf Rangnick.

The 61-year-old Rangnick has taken over the role of a manager at Leipzig twice in a four-year period. He first stepped into the role in 2015 and managed the club for the full 2018-19 campaign.

Before joining Leipzig as the manager, he was the club’s sporting director and he is currently working as the head of sport and development soccer for Red Bull company.

A report from the Athletic have stated that United are keeping close tabs on Rangnick and they could bring him in, if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does leave at some point before the end of the season.

Some United fans have laughed off the links and they feel that this will not happen.

Rangnick has also managed Schalke on two occasions and was also been in-charge of Hoffenheim from 2006 to 2011.

The German has previously been a sporting director at RB Salzburg as well- from 2012 to 2015. After this spell, he took over the same role with East Germany’s Leipzig. With Bayern Munich without a manager following the sacking of Niko Kovac, Rangnick has been linked with the vacant post at Bavaria too.

The Athletic have said that Rangnick is on Bayern’s shortlist and he is one of the ‘viable options’ for the club, apart from Ajax boss Erik ten Hag.

Some United fans feel that the former Leipzig boss will indeed head to Bayern soon.

Rangnick has been credit with discovering players like Roberto Firmino, Joel Matip, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Luiz Gustavo and Teemu Pukki. During his time at Salzburg and Leipzig, he gave a platform to the likes of Marcel Halstenberg, Dayot Upamecano, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita.

What do we think?

It is fair to say that Rangnick is one of the best talent-spotters in European football. His work at Salzburg and Leipzig says just that. United need someone with that ability when it comes to how they’re struggling with recruitment.

He has helped steady many ships when he has joined clubs on a temporary basis. If United do sack Solskjaer anytime soon, they should certainly consider hiring Rangnick. However, that all appears to be dependent on whether Bayern decides to snap him up in the next few days.

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European Football Writer. Contributed for FootballItalia, Manchester United, Manchester Evening News, Calciomercato, GFFN and more.