Ralf Rangnick’s six-month stint in charge of Manchester United was ill-advised and there are not many positives to take from his spell in the dugout.
The one thing you could say was positive was that it completely exposed all of the flaws Erik ten Hag needed to address when he assumed responsibilities shortly after. He did, however, take the job with a fantastic pedigree and he did present some good ideas.
As part of the agreement which saw him take over as interim manager for half of last season, Rangnick was expected to take up a two-year consultancy role. That agreement was scrapped just weeks after Ten Hag was appointed.
Now, journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has provided some insight as to what Rangnick could have been offering in that role.
Read more: Fabrizio Romano says Erling Haaland was close to joining Man United
As per CaughtOffside, Romano says that Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji was an option for the Old Trafford club this summer as they weighed up their options to strengthen the backline.
Akanji, who had one year left on his Borussia Dortmund contract, had been mentioned in the press before but according to Romano, Rangnick’s interest in the Swiss defender made it a possibility.
When Rangnick departed, that prospect did as well, however. Akanji joined United’s rivals on deadline day instead and he could feature in the Manchester derby on Sunday.
Instead, United went for familiarity instead as Ten Hag opted to sign Lisandro Martinez from Ajax, who has barely put a foot wrong so far.
The Argentina defender won the Player of the Month award in his first month at United and is now eyeing a starting place for Argentina at this winter’s World Cup.