Rangnick left ‘shaking his head’ after Man Utd attempted to sign ‘nasty b*stard’

Former Man Utd interim boss Ralf Rangnick was baffled by some of the summer business going down at Old Trafford this summer, according to reports.

Rangnick took over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the end of November last year and the German coach remained in place until the end of a very disappointing season.

Man Utd finished in sixth place in the Premier League table, 13 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham – who snatched the final Champions League position – and 35 points behind champions Man City.

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Rangnick was widely expected to move upstairs as a consultant for Man Utd at the end of the season but, after accepting the chance to become Austria boss, the Red Devils decided he couldn’t do both roles at the same time.

During his time involved with the Red Bull group, which own Leipzig and Salzburg, Rangnick helped sign Sadio Mane, Erling Haaland, Naby Keita, Joshua Kimmich, Dayot Upamecano and many more promising players.

There have been reports that Man Utd rejected all of his advice on transfers while at Old Trafford and it was clear that he had no say in signings this summer.

Many of the Red Devils’ signings this summer seemed fairly unplanned with the club lacking a clear long-term recruitment strategy.

Their pursuit of Marko Arnautovic was one which surprised supporters and pundits with a backlash from fans eventually ending their pursuit of the Austria international.

The Athletic claim that Ten Hag ‘identified a streak in the striker he wished to add to his dressing room’ with ‘nasty bastard’ used to describe him in the nicest possible way.

And the report added:

‘Bologna had turned down one bid for Arnautovic but United intended to return with an improved offer. There was an internal expectation the transfer would happen. Then fans complained direct to Arnold, coaches also conferred, and United had a re-think.

‘All the while Rangnick, Arnautovic’s Austria manager, was left shaking his head in bafflement United would go for that profile of player. Some at the club feel that, on football terms, a deadline-day move might have been palatable to fans as a supplementary signing rather than a central one, but the moral objections were too distinct.’

Man Utd broke their record for money spent in a single transfer window by splashing £229m this summer with the late arrivals of Casemiro and Antony significantly upping that number.