Rangnick puts midfielder high up on his Man Utd wishlist

After seemingly prolonging the inevitable sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for several weeks, Manchester United wasted no time in appointing his successor, announcing Ralf Rangnick as the club’s new interim boss on Monday.

The former RB Leipzig manager left his role as head of sports and development at Lokomotiv Moscow to take up the post at Old Trafford, and he will reportedly be handed a healthy budget to bolster his struggling squad in January.

The 63-year-old will have to deal with the Red Devils’ leaky defence, as well as their lack of balance in midfield, with Scott McTominay and Fred often failing to impress at the base of United’s midfield.

Rangnick has allegedly already identified his first transfer target, with Leipzig midfielder Amadou Haidara top of his January shopping list.

As per The Times, the Malian midfielder could be on his way to Old Trafford as he has a £33 million release clause in his contract with his current employers.

Haidara is a top performer in Germany.

Rangnick signed the Mali international for Leipzig, and he has since gone on to make almost 100 appearances for the Bundesliga side, while also racking up 23 international caps.

The 23-year-old has been. regular in Leipzig’s midfield this season, featuring in all but one of the club’s 13 league games, as well as in four out of their five Champions League fixtures.

Since joining in 2019, he has scored ten goals and registered six assists for the club.

He joined Leipzig having shone at former side Red Bull Salburg, where he managed a total of 30 goals and assists in 83 matches.

United will reportedly make an approach for Haidara in January, with a view to adding him to their unbalanced midfield in the new year.