For any Manchester United fans expecting things to change significantly at Old Trafford in the next few games, the likelihood is they’ll be sorely disappointed.
Ralf Rangnick is a huge upgrade on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, it’s true, but he isn’t a miracle worker.
Restoring the Red Devils to the top table of English and European football is going to take time and effort. From all concerned.
The German’s brief as manager is for an initial six months, with a view to a potential two-year consultancy role thereafter.
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It’s entirely possible, of course, that once Rangnick has his feet under the table, he’ll want to see out the job he started himself.
The first chance he will have to really put a stamp on the first team will come in the January transfer window.
At this stage it isn’t clear as to who he is willing to let go, and who he has instructed the United board to go and buy.
However, one player whose contract runs out at the end of the season is the enigmatic midfielder Paul Pogba.
A world-beater one week, awful the next, Pogba has never really built up any sort of consistency since he’s been back at Old Trafford.
The Telegraph report that United are looking at reinforcements as the Frenchman’s future remains unclear. Such uncertainty is unhealthy for a club at any level. So much so that if Pogba were to depart six months earlier than planned it could prove to be a blessing in disguise for United.
Even if the club decide to forget about any transfer demands in terms of a fee, the money they’d save on salary from half a year without Pogba could be put to good use elsewhere.
His exit could also free up an extra slot in midfield to make Rangnick’s initial rebuilding job just that little bit easier.
It also raises the prospect of Donny van der Beek’s United career being resurrected and not before time.
Given a run in the side, the tenacious Dutchman is capable of running the midfield in a way that Pogba never could. We only have to recall Ajax’s epic run to the Champions League semi-finals as evidence of that.