Man Utd set to confirm Ralf Rangnick appointment within 24 hours

Manchester United are expected to confirm the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager within the next 24 hours, replacing caretaker boss Michael Carrick in the hotseat.

United agreed a deal with Rangnick last week, before successfully negotiating his exit from his contract as head of sports at Lokomotiv Moscow. The 63-year-old will lead the team until the summer and then remain at the club in a consultancy capacity until 2024.

It had been speculated that an announcement would come before Sunday’s Premier League clash against Chelsea, even though a work permit was expected to take longer.

Despite claims he influenced picking the team, which Carrick denied after the game, the news didn’t come. However, The Athletic writes that an announcement is expected to come in the next 24 hours, which will be on or before Tuesday morning.

There is still uncertainty as to whether that would mean Rangnick would take charge of United’s Premier League fixture against Arsenal on Thursday night. But the likelihood is that he will definitely be in charge at least by the time the club faces Crystal Palace on 5 December.

The hold-up so far appears to have been the process of securing a visa and work permit.

Rangnick, who is credited with inventing the much heralded gegenpressing style of play and influencing the careers of Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel, Julian Nagelsmann and many more, inherits a United squad in desperate need of tactical instruction and a real identity.

The speculation that his influence was already being felt on team selection for Sunday’s match at Stamford Bridge came when Cristiano Ronaldo was surprisingly dropped and the players who were on the pitch appeared to be much more drilled in cohesive tactics.

But Carrick insisted he got no help and took credit for the Stamford Bridge gameplan himself.

“That’s not the case, no,” the caretaker explained.

“We came here with a plan. I kind of knew how Chelsea would play and we wanted to stop the passes through to Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. There were a few changes to freshen it up and it’s what we decided to go with today. We almost pulled it off.”

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