Ralf Rangnick reveals Manchester United's January striker plans including Luis Diaz and Dusan Vlahovic were dismissed
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Updated 07/05/2022 at 09:36 GMT
Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick had identified Luis Diaz, Dusan Vlahovic and River Plate’s Julián Álvarez among potential options to lead the line for the Red Devils, but confirmed his request was turned down by the club’s hierarchy. “Maybe I should have pushed, the answer at the time was no,” the German admitted.
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Ralf Rangnick has revealed plans to sign a striker in January was turned down by the Manchester United board, which included targets such as Luis Diaz, Dusan Vlahovic and Julián Álvarez.
The United boss looked to bolster his attack after losing two forwards. Anthony Martial was loaned to Sevilla, and a few days later Mason Greenwood was arrested on January 30 on suspicion of rape, assault and threats to kill and suspended indefinitely.
Rangnick presented a number of key targets to the United hierarchy, including now Liverpool forward Luis Diaz, who has hit the ground running on Merseyside and has been considered one of the best January signings of all-time.
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VILLARREAL, SPAIN - MAY 03: Luis Diaz of Liverpool runs with the ball during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final Leg Two match between Villarreal and Liverpool at Estadio de la Ceramica on May 03, 2022 in Villarreal, Spain. (Photo by Silvestre Szpylma/Qu
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But the interim manager had his plans turned down, before he was told the market was closed.
“I still believe that we should have tried in those 48 hours,” Rangnick explained.
“The board [at the time] sees it the same way – they agreed – but they also spoke to the scouting department at the same time.
"Maybe we should have tried to sign a player in these 48 hours since we knew Mason wouldn’t be available and Anthony Martial had already left on loan… But we didn’t.
Maybe I should have pushed even more in order to get this additional striker.
“The answer at the time was: ‘No, there is no player on the market that can really help us.’”
A few days after Diaz joined Liverpool, neighbours and bitter rivals Manchester City announced the signing of Álvarez River Plate asa long-term successor to Sergio Aguero, whilst Vlahovic joined Serie A side Juventus from Fiorentina.
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Dusan Vlahovic of FC Juventus looks on during the Serie A match between Genoa CFC v FC Juventus on May 6, 2022 in Genova, Italy. (Photo by Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Diaz has slotted almost perfectly into the already mouth-watering Liverpool front line, scoring five times and assisting a further three since arriving at Anfield, whilst Vlahovic has scored seven since arriving in Turin.
Manchester United, who currently sit sixth in the Premier League - five points adrift of the Champions League spots with two games to go - have relied solely on 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo to produce the goods in front of goal.
The former Real Madrid man has scored 24 times for the Red Devils this season, and with his time surely running out at Old Trafford, Rangnick - who will soon to be take up a consultancy role at the club - was eager to begin planning for life after the Portuguese forward.
“There were a few: Díaz who is now at Liverpool, Álvarez who will be at Man City in the summer, Vlahovic who at the time was with Fiorentina.
“So those are just three of them that come across my mind now. The answer was no and that was it. We were still in three competitions: the FA Cup, the Champions League, at the time were fourth in the league.
“I spoke to the board and told them: ‘Shouldn’t we at least speak and analyse and find if we can at least get a player, on loan or a permanent deal?’ In the end the answer was no.
Maybe they didn’t want to do any winter [business]. Forty-eight hours is 48 hours.
“It might have been at least worth to try and internally discuss it. We didn’t.”
There were doubts among the Man United board of Rangnick’s time frame of 48 hours to find a suitable replacement, especially considering the club’s policy of only signing a player in January who is a target for the summer, another factor that precluded a search for a forward.
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