Rangnick’s the man for the moment ...someone who can stop United trying to become the Harlem Globetrotters of the Premier League STAN COLLYMORE

ON first impressions, Ralf Rangnick seems to be a pragmatist and that’s exactly what Manchester United need.

Someone who will level with Ed Woodward and Co and tell them what they have been doing wrong.

Someone who will convey the simple message that galactico signing after galactico signing isn’t working and never will.

United’s hierarchy need someone to tell them to stop trying to be the Harlem Globetrotters of Premier League football and to focus instead on the methods that have reaped rewards for the club in the past. Those Sir Alex Ferguson used when he built a generation of success at Old Trafford, for example, around a solid core of youth and a very good group with just one marquee signing or an absolute maximum of two.

Lightning

Eric Cantona was the lightning rod signing in all of it for United and whatever role Rangnick takes on from the summer, whether he stays on as manager or moves upstairs to advise the club, he will do well to work from a similar blueprint.

Because right now, United have four players you’d say fit the marquee bill in Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, Jadon

Sancho and Edinson Cavani. Big players with big wages and big egos. That’s too many big characters for one group and as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer found to his cost, ultimately they end up running the show.

Now, there’s a chance Cavani may well be ushered out in January and, if not, it’ll be next summer.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see

Ronaldo let go at the end of the season, either, and Pogba could well be a free agent then, too. That would leave Sancho and, if Rangnick could bring

in one more big name in Erling Haaland, then they would be in a great position.

Yes, both would be marquee players but both are still young enough to mould into a team rather than being characters who run a dressing room.

Significant

If Rangnick can put the building blocks in place with other signings that are similar to the one Ferguson made when he took Gary Pallister from Middlesbrough at the age of 24, then he will again take significant steps forward.

It would reset the path for United if they let most of the galacticos go and made signings like that. If they can do that then there’s no reason why they won’t be battling it out at the top again in the next couple of years.

Whether that will mean a title tilt, I don’t know. But things can turn very quickly and if Rangnick does his job then I would hope from a United fans’ perspective that he will have whipped them into some kind of shape. I read suggestions last week he would have around £100million to spend in January and, first things first, he needs an upgrade in goal and central defence.

Whether that would mean a 50/50 split or 75/25 we’ll have to wait and see, but you won’t get much change if you can bring in two players for those positions.

David De Gea, fantastic keeper he is, isn’t on the same level as Edouard Mendy, Alisson and Ederson now and it’s glaringly obvious that they need more strength just in front of him.

But listening to Rangnick talk on Friday, he’s an intelligent man, he speaks honestly, openly and in good English. And I can’t help but think they might have found the right man for the right moment.

He’s not necessarily going to light up media conferences, but that’s not a bad thing for the club because United don’t need to be all Hollywood glitz on or off the field.