Nine players Ralf Rangnick told Man Utd to sign – like City, Chelsea and Liverpool stars

Ralf Rangnick was in charge of Manchester United from November 2021 until the end of the season and he had his eyes on a number of players. Here's why they weren't signed by the Red Devils

Former interim Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick recommended nine top players to the club, including several stars who ended up at their Premier League rivals.

Despite his tenure not being seen as a success by many fans, Rangnick did attempt to pave the way for a brighter future for the Red Devils. The 65-year-old German was appointed as temporary boss in November 2021 after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked, and ended up guiding the team to a sixth-placed finish.

He was supposed to stay on in a consultancy role to support Erik ten Hag at the end of the 2021/22 season, but Rangnick chose to leave to become the Austria national team boss. In the last few weeks of his time at United, he admitted that the squad needed "open-heart surgery" to compete at the top level again.

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Interestingly, the former Leipzig coach suggested that United should sign up to nine elite players to strengthen the team. In an interview with German outlet BILD, Rangnick said "there was a need in many areas" and proposed several "realistic" targets when they were available, according to The Mirror.

One of these was Manchester City's star player Erling Haaland. Rangnick was an executive in the Red Bull group when Haaland was playing for Salzburg, before the forward shot to fame at Borussia Dortmund. Haaland then moved to City in the summer of 2022 and scored an impressive 52 goals in 53 matches last season.

Another player Rangnick had on his radar and suggested to the United board was defender Josko Gvardiol, who moved from RB Leipzig to City for a whopping £77million last summer. He also urged the club to sign River Plate duo Julian Alvarez and Enzo Fernandez, who were subsequently snapped up by City and Chelsea respectively.

In addition, Rangnick recommended Christopher Nkunku, who followed Fernandez to Stamford Bridge this summer. Despite being out with a knee issue since pre-season, the Frenchman managed to score 23 goals for Leipzig in the previous season.

Konrad Laimer, another ex-Leipzig talent who now plays for Bayern Munich, was also on Rangnick's list, as was Alvaro Morata, who has been in good goalscoring form since leaving Chelsea, and Dusan Vlahovic, who has spent the past three years at Juventus.

Lastly, Rangnick had his eyes on Luis Diaz though the Colombian decided to join Liverpool in a deal worth £37.5m shortly after Rangnick's arrival at Old Trafford.

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