Rangnick outlines transfer strategy as Man Utd boss warns against unrealistic expectations

Rangnick
will
take
charge
of
his
first
match
when
United
welcome
Crystal
Palace
to
Old
Trafford
in
Premier
League
action
on
Sunday
(December
5).

The
63-year-old
has
been
appointed
until
the
end
of
the
season,
with
former
RB
Leipzig
boss
Rangnick
set
to
move
into
a
consultancy
role
until
204.

Rangnick
has
earned
a
reputation
for
identifying
young
talent
during
his
work
with
Red
Bull-owned
clubs
Leipzig
and
Salzburg
and
as
the
January
window
approaches,
he
provided
an
insight
into
how
he
operates.

Good
afternoon,
Ralf.

Let’s
get
down
to
business.#MUFC
|

#MUNCRY
pic.twitter.com/eNjrjSoGQ7

—
Manchester
United
(@ManUtd)

December
4,
2021

“One
does
not
exclude
the
other.
The
team
has,
with
Mason
[Greenwood]
and
Marcus
[Rashford],
two
players
who
are
homegrown
and
have
come
from
the
youth
ranks,”
said
Rangnick
after
United
signing
36-year-old
Cristiano
Ronaldo
and
28-year-old
Raphael
Varane
ahead
of
the
2021-22
campaign,
having
also
lured
Jadon
Sancho,
21,
to
Manchester.

“It’s
about
recruitment
but
also
at
a
club
like
Man
United,
with
a
top
academy,
we
should
make
sure
that
every
year
we
have
one
or
two
players
who
are
good
enough
to
make
it
into
the
first
team.

“On
the
other
hand,
with
signing
players
for
transfer
fees,
it’s
a
question
of
what
you
want.
If
you
pay
big
money
for
a
30-year-old
and
he’s
still
good
enough
to
make
you
successful,
I
don’t
mind
that.

“But
you
have
to
be
aware
the
money
you
invest
is
only
being
invested
in
the
potential
success
over
the
next
two
or
three
years,
you
won’t
get
any
return.

“This
is
where
I
always
think
it
always
makes
more
sense
to
sign
a
player
at
21
or
22
and
if
you
then
have
to
pay
a
big
fee,
at
least
you
have
the
chance
to
develop
him
into
a
player
who
is
worth
even
more.”

At
Leipzig,
after
spells
with
the
likes
of
Hoffenheim,
Hannover
and
Schalke,
Rangnick
–
known
for
his
high
pressing
–
took
charge
of
the
team
in
two
different
spells,
having
initially
joined
parent
company
Red
Bull
as
director
of
football
in
2012.

Under
Rangnick’s
leadership,
Leipzig
had
gone
from
the
regional
league
to
Champions
League
qualification
by
2017.

Rangnick
–
who
will
become
only
the
sixth
German
to
manage
in
the
Premier
League
–
was
promoted
to
the
head
of
sport
and
development
for
Red
Bull
in
2019,
before
eventually
joining
Lokomotiv
Moscow
earlier
this
year.

Rangnick
has
never
managed
outside
of
his
native
Germany,
taking
charge
of
five
different
teams
in
the
German
Bundesliga
in
his
career.
The
last
side
he
managed
was
Leipzig,
winning
promotion
with
them
from
2.Bundesliga
in
2015-16
before
returning
to
the
club
for
the
2018-19
top-flight
season
and
leading
them
to
third
place.

Across
294
Bundesliga
matches,
Rangnick
has
a
winning
percentage
of
41.
He
first
took
charge
in
the
top
flight
in
May
1999
at
Stuttgart,
losing
2-0
to
Bayern
Munich,
while
his
last
game
in
charge
in
the
competition
came
20
years
later
in
May
2019
at
Leipzig,
a
2-1
defeat
to
Werder
Bremen.

His
best
top-flight
finish
as
a
coach
is
second,
achieved
in
2004-05
with
Schalke,
a
side
he
took
over
mid-season
and
led
to
a
runners-up
position
and
also
to
the
final
of
that
season’s
DFB-Pokal,
ultimately
losing
2-1
to
Bayern.

Compared
to
countryman
and
Liverpool
manager
Jurgen
Klopp
due
to
their
high-octane
brand
of
football,
Rangnick
addressed
the
comparisons.

????
“I
want
to
develop
the
team,
train
the
brains
and
at
the
same
time,
encourage
the
players
to
do
the
right
things.

“It’s
important
to
win
games
in
the
first
instance,
and
then
step
by
step,
develop
the
team
in
the
right
direction.”#MUFC
|

#MUNCRY
pic.twitter.com/hjw6mf92NE

—
Manchester
United
(@ManUtd)

December
4,
2021

“Well
my
football
is
definitely
not
a
slow
waltz!,”
said
Rangnick,
whose
United
have
already
been
linked
with
Leipzig
pair
Christopher
Nkunku
and
Amadou
Haidara.
“I
am
not
that
far
apart
from
Jurgen
in
terms
of
our
ideas
about
a
style
of
football.
That’s
no
secret.

“But
you
have
to
be
aware
of
what
kind
of
players
you
have
and
where
they
stand.
I
cannot
ask
things
of
them
that
they
can’t
deliver
right
now.

“I
have
to
take
them
and
accept
where
they
currently
are.
They
are
experienced
and
smart
enough
to
know
that.
I
cannot
turn
the
players
we
have
into
the
pressing
monsters
I
want
them
to
be
within
two,
three
or
four
weeks.

“The
same
happened
to
Jurgen
when
he
came
in
the
middle
of
the
season
and
they
finished
eighth
or
ninth.
Liverpool
had
a
lot
of
injuries
in
that
time
–
muscle
injuries
–
because
they
were
not
used
to
that
kind
of
training.
So
we
have
to
be
smart.”

United
are
seventh
in
the
Premier
League
standings
and
14
points
adrift
of
leaders
and
defending
champions
Manchester
City.

The
Red
Devils
have
conceded
in
15
consecutive
home
games
in
all
competitions,
their
second-longest
ever
such
run,
after
a
21-game
streak
ending
in
March
1959.

Rangnick
added:
“I
am
more
than
optimistic,
but
I
also
have
to
be
realistic.
Five
weeks
ago,
our
team
lost
5-0
against
Liverpool
–
and
it
could
have
been
a
lot
more
if
we
are
honest.

“Against
City
it
was
2-0
–
but
it
could
also
have
been
more.
It
was
important
to
win
the
point
at
Chelsea
but
the
performance?
I
don’t
know.
They
had
24
shots
on
goal
and
we
had
three.

“So
right
now,
to
say
I
will
challenge
the
top
Premier
League
managers
in
the
next
few
weeks
or
months,
is
not
realistic.
Right
now
my
focus
is
on
Crystal
Palace
and
then
on
Young
Boys,
then
Norwich,
then
Brighton
and
Hove
Albion
and
then
Brentford.

“The
games
against
Chelsea,
Liverpool
and
Man
City
will
be
in
March
and
April
–
and
that’s
when
I
will
answer
the
question
about
challenging
them.”