Following Ralf Rangnick’s appointment as interim manager in December one would hope that United will start to use his knowledge of the market and contact book.

Earlier this week he was pictured sat alongside AS Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell at the FA Youth Cup win over Leicester City..

Rangnick was responsible for some big signings down the years when he unearthed talents like Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano, Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and Chelsea’s Timo Werner.

According to The Mirror, United have sent scouts to watch both PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo and Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Palhinha.

PSV Eindhoven attacker Cody Gakpo is interesting Manchester United.

Gakpo, 22, has impressed this season for PSV, scoring 13 goals and producing 13 assists in 33 games.

The winger’s form has not gone unnoticed and Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester City have all been rumored to be interested.

According to the Mirror, Rangnick has ‘instructed’ the club’s recruitment team to monitor Gakpo closely.

He was scouted in PSV’s recent Europa Conference League victory over Maccabi Tel-Aviv – in which the forward scored the winning goal.

United are deemed on the hunt for attacking reinforcements with doubts over the long-term futures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani. The pair are 37 and 34 respectively, while Mason Greenwood may never play for the club again.

As for Palhinha Manchester United have stepped up interest in the Sporting CP star.

The defensive midfielder Palhinha, who has just signed a new deal at his Portuguese club, is highly rated by the Old Trafford outfit.

The deal runs until 2026 but is understood to have been more about Sporting protecting the value of their asset.

The release clause in the deal is close to £50million but Sporting will listen to offers north of £20m, with performance-based add-ons.

United scouts are understood to have watched Palhinha in at least eight matches this season, with suggestions in Portugal that the club has a preferential option to buy him with Sporting.

United would have to commit to buy Palhinha no later than the first week of June, or Sporting will offer him elsewhere.

Palhinha looks like he’d be a solid option to strengthen the Red Devils in the defensive midfield department, with the club likely to be looking for an upgrade on the likes of Fred and Nemanja Matic.

It will be interesting to see how this develops, but it looks like a bargain deal is there for the taking if MUFC decide to push ahead with it.

Some fans might well be craving bigger names, but it looks like Palhinha is highly thought of at Old Trafford and could end up being a smart purchase on the cheap.