Ralf Rangnick has identified Manchester United’s midfield as an area of weakness — ESPN’s Insider Notebook has the latest.
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Rangnick talks up Bellingham, Haidara, Phillips
Ralf Rangnick identified Manchester United’s midfield as an area of weakness in his interview with club bosses and suggested players of interest before being offered the job as interim manager, sources told ESPN.
Rangnick impressed during discussions with football director John Murtough, technical director Darren Fletcher and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward as United searched for a temporary boss to take over following the dismissal of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
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Sources told ESPN that he explained why the club should look to invest in midfield and suggested scouts take a closer look at RB Leipzig’s Amadou Haidara, also identifying Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham and Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips as potential midfield targets. Meanwhile, Bellingham’s Dortmund teammate Erling Haaland, a long term United target, was also mentioned by Rangnick ahead of what is likely to be a Europe-wide battle for the player’s signature in the summer.
Fred and Scott McTominay were handed starts in Rangnick’s first game as interim boss — a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last Sunday in which Fred scored the winner — and while the new boss was pleased with the pair, he did earmark room for improvement.
“They did one or two or three mistakes, especially in the first half there were two square passes; one from Scott, one from Fred,” Rangnick said. “I don’t like those kinds of balls in midfield in those positions. But overall, when the other team is in possession of the ball, both Fred and Scotty they are almost perfect for that kind of football.”
As well as improvements to the first team, Rangnick…
Source : espn
