Ralf Rangnick wanted to sign a new striker for Manchester United in January, but his request was denied by the board following the club’s scouting department’s suggestion.
After Mason Greenwood was suspended only two days before the winter window closed, the interim manager made his appeal to the board that they need a backup option.
The board initially approved his plea but later rejected to sign any new striker. Many high-profile strikers like Luis Diaz, Julian Alvarez, and Dusan Vlahovic were shortlisted by Ralf Rangnick.
Ralf Rangnick still has this thought in his mind that a new striker could have helped his team perform better.
As reported by SkySports, he said: “The answer at the time was no there was no player on the market that could really help us – there were a few, Diaz who is now at Liverpool, Alvarez who will be at Manchester City in the summer, Vlahovic who at the time still was with Fiorentina those are just three of them that come across my mind now”
“I spoke to the board and said shouldn’t we at least speak and try and analyze if we could get a player either on loan or as a permanent deal but in the end the answer was no.”
Since then only Cristiano Ronaldo has been able to score goals and all other players hardly made it to the double figures. United will almost certainly finish outside the top four and, at best, will be forced to compete in the Europa League next season as a result of their choice.
However, club sources claim that Rangnick’s request was rejected since any money paid in January would have been deducted from the summer transfer budget. There had been no decision on Solskjaer’s replacement at the time, so it was impossible to know if whoever it was would agree with the new addition.
Must Read: Cristiano Ronaldo and his attacking adaptation throughout his career
United’s whole scouting department appears to be undergoing a complete overhaul this summer, with two senior members, chief scout Jim Lawlor and head of global scouting Marcel Bout, announcing their departure last month.
Rangnick has frequently admitted that the departure of Greenwood, who had scored five goals in 16 Premier League starts at the time, was one of the main reasons behind the club’s sudden loss of form after January.
