Manchester United News: New Interim Manager Identified Club's Key Problem In 2019

Manchester United made a major stride towards salvaging the season after appointing legendary German manager Ralf Rangnick as the interim manager for the next six months and he has already identified a major pain point.

Years before he was appointed to take over, Rangnick pointed out that Manchester United’s transfer policy has been the major cause for their lackluster performances, which arguably remains true to this day.

“Since Sir Alex [Ferguson] left they were underperforming. They haven’t won the title since he left. At any club, if you cannot get the right players, then you should at least not sign the wrong ones. You are in trouble if you do that in one or two or three consecutive transfer windows,” Rangnick said in 2019 as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.

In the summer transfer window prior to the 2019-20 season, Manchester United saw the departure of Romelu Lukaku to Inter and replacing him with Bruno Fernandes in midfield, plus acquiring Harry Maguire for a massive combined sum of £135 million ($179.9 million).

The season before that, they replaced defensive midfielder Daley Blind with Fred and under-utilized Diogo Dalot for £72.9 million ($97.1 million) combined.

Add in the fact that they added another under-used but superbly talented player in Donny van de Beek last season, and Rangnick’s observation once again rings true.

In fairness to Manchester United, they had redeemed themselves in the transfer market this season by selling Daniel James to Leeds United and sending Andreas Pereira on loan to Flamengo to create room for Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Of the three players, Ronaldo stands out for obvious reasons, but the Varane signing might be their best signing in years.

Varane has been cited by many fans as the main reason for them being able to prevent goals and his absence due to injury has clearly affected Manchester United’s defending, highlighted by their losses to rivals Liverpool and Manchester City plus a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Watford.

Michael Carrick, the immediate interim manager after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked last weekend, led the team to victory over Villareal this past Tuesday, November 23, securing their spot in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.

Rangnick will not be able to join the Red Devils at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, November 28 against Chelsea due to work permit concerns and Carrick will remain in charge for that game at least.

Rangnick’s appointment as interim gaffer comes after Paris Saint-Germain blocked their approach for Mauricio Pochettino, but it is expected that Manchester United will still go after him in the summer transfer window.