RALF RIDES TO RESCUE
United land 63-year-old German as boss until end of season... and he’ll stay for TWO MORE YEARS as adviser!
RALF RANGNICK is set to become Manchester United’s interim manager until the end of the season after agreeing terms for a six-month contract at Old Trafford.
The 63-year-old German coach is head of sports and development at Lokomotiv Moscow and United are in talks with the Russian club to secure his release.
Sources say that an agreement has yet to be reached — with United respectful that Lokomotiv had a Europa League game at home to Lazio last night — but it is expected to be confirmed.
Rangnick, who will stay on at United for a further two years in a consultancy role as part of the deal, still needs a work permit, so caretaker boss Michael Carrick will remain in charge for Sunday’s trip to Chelsea. United have chosen
Rangnick as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s replacement from a shortlist that also included Ernesto Valverde, Lucien Favre, Rudi Garcia and Paulo Fonseca. Rangnick has a good relationship with the Old Trafford hierarchy having previously spoken to the club before they appointed Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho. He also interviewed for the Everton manager’s job before Carlo Ancelotti took over in December 2019. He has maintained links with senior figures at Old Trafford and, in particular, director of football John Murtough. Rangnick is a leading advocate of the gegenpressing approach that influenced a generation of German coaches including Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann. He has previously coached Stuttgart, Hannover, Hoffenheim and Schalke, having made his name by leading Ulm into the Bundesliga for the first time. Rangnick also had two stints in charge of RB Leipzig after being appointed as director of football in 2012 as the club rose to the top-flight from the fourth tier of German football. He has only won one major trophy as a manager — the German Cup in 2011 with Schalke — but steered the same club to the Champions League semifinals in 2011, when they lost 6-1 on aggregate to United. Rangnick joined Lokomotiv on a three-year, £3.8million-a-year contract in July and the consultancy role at United ensures that he is compensated for the remainder of that deal. Rangnick’s contract as interim manager runs until the end of May. But he could be a contender for the permanent job if things go well — as happened with Solskjaer. His first game in charge is likely to be against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Thursday or Crystal Palace at home three days later, with Carrick continuing as caretaker until then after winning his first game in charge against Villarreal on Tuesday night. United were committed to installing an interim boss after deciding it would be too problematic to prise Mauricio Pochettino (above) from Paris Saint-Germain in midseason. Pochettino made it clear that he would be interested in switching now but United put out feelers and were told that any approach would be resisted by PSG. The French club were determined not to disrupt their season but may be more open to letting Pochettino leave in the summer when he will be the No 1 contender to land the United job on a permanent basis. Former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is tipped to be Pochettino’s successor in Paris when he ends a sabbatical in the summer, having indicated that he would not be interested in the United job. Pochettino has worked with sporting directors at PSG and Tottenham and it is understood that he would be comfortable working with Rangnick in a similar role.