When Ralf Ranginck agreed to take over Manchester United, he did a detailed analysis of the team he will work with for the next six months. But even without a vast football knowledge, the German could have figure out United’s main weakness – central midfield. It was obvious to everybody, apart from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester executives that the midfield is the main problem for the Red Devils. McTominay and Fred are not good and strong enough for the role, as well as Paul Pogba, whose form is questionable to say at least. And Rangnick has two answers to that – Amadou Haidara and Dmitri Barinov.🚨 Ralf Rangnick is targeting £33m midfielder Amadou Haidara to implement his pressing style at Manchester United.(Source: The Times) pic.twitter.com/eaw01IqKbS— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) November 30, 2021 United need reinforcements in the midfield even if Pogba stays with United (and it’s likely that he will leave in June) and Rangnick also knows he only has 6 months and will not have the time to change all the players he needs or implement his gegenpressing in such a short period. So, Haidara is a perfect candidate for many reasons, and The Times are reporting that he is a target for United.United’s most expensive signings: CoachesFirst and foremost, he is Rangnick’s player. When Ralf was in RB Leipzig, he bought Haidara from it’s ’sister’ club RB Salzburg, and he knows the player well, and what’s more important, the Mali international knows what Rangnick wants from a tactical point of view. Secondly, he is a dynamic midfielder, something that United is missing. Haidara likes to compare his style of play to his hero – Steven Gerrard and the Red Devils don’t have that type of player. He is a tireless worker in the middle of the park, often playing in a defensive or box-to-box role, although he can create chances and score some goals, like he did against Manchester.Meet the guy who will make Ronaldo and Pogba play ‘gegenpressing’Third, United need another midfielder, because Pogba will probably leave in June, and finally, he is cheap. Leipzig are in a good financial position and will not have to sell, so United will have to pay the full price, which is ’only’ 5 billion Ksh. A small fee for United, who spent that kind of sum paying compensations to it’s former 4 coaches. Also, he needs a good defensive midfielder, since Nemanja Matic is not the future of United. Rangnick spent the last couple of months as an advisor in Locomotive Moscow and there he saw Dmitri Barinov, a Russian international with a huge potential. Don’t be surprised if he ends up at Old Trafford in January.
