While nothing is set in stone yet, it looks like Ralf Rangnick is set to become the Manchester United interim manager. It is a very exciting appointment on the part of the club, albeit short-term, following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s departure after the 4-1 defeat at the hands of Watford, which saw the Red Devils slip down to 8th in the Premier League.
Rangnick is one of the most highly-regarded managers in modern football, who has influenced the likes of Thomas Tuchel, Jurgen Klopp, Julian Nagelsmann and many others.
If he was to end up in the Manchester United hot-seat permanently, it would be the biggest job of his legendary career though. And the German will surely have a lot of problems to solve on his hands.
Here are three problems that Ralf Rangnick would need to solve if he did end up becoming the Manchester United interim manager:
1. The midfield combination
Midfield has been an area of worry for Manchester United for a while now. It is not that the club does not have options in the middle of the park. It is just that they have not been able to find the right combination.
Donny van de Beek for example has shown a lot of potential in recent times but has not featured much at all. Questions have been raised about the combination of Fred and Scott McTominay but there is no doubting the fact that both of them bring something to the table. Nemanja Matic is 33 years of age but still the most natural defensive midfielder at Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandes is almost undroppable but has not been as effective this season as in the past. And no manager has quite been able to unlock the best of Paul Pogba in a Manchester United shirt till now.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo’s fit in his system
Cristiano Ronaldo completed a stunning return to Manchester United in the summer and since then, he has been great individually, scoring important goals on several occasions although the team’s results have not been up to the mark.
If Ralf Rangnick was to come in though, one would have to question Ronaldo’s fit in his style of football.
Rangnick’s Gegenpressing, a philosophy he played a big part in shaping, is all about pressing with intensity and winning the ball back from the opposition as quickly as possible.
Ronaldo on the other hand is not known for his pressing game and at 36 years of age, one has to wonder whether he could adapt to that style of football, even though the Portuguese superstar is still in phenomenal shape.
Thus, if Rangnick was to indeed arrive at Old Trafford as the club’s interim manager, it would be very interesting to see how he would fit Ronaldo into his plans and get the best out of him.
3. The right-back position
In Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side, who have made Gegenpressing popular in English football, we have seen how much of a part the full-backs play in the final third.
At Manchester United, Luke Shaw has shown last season that he can be very effective on the other end of the pitch, although his form has not been great this season.
On the other hand, the same cannot be said about Aaron Wan-Bissaka. He has been the regular right-back for Manchester United since he arrived back in the summer of 2019. Defensively, he is one of the best full-backs in the Premier League and maybe even in world football. But going forward, he does leave a lot to be desired.
Thus, that is another area that Rangnick might need to think about. Manchester United also do have Diogo Dalot capable of playing there.