Ralf Rangnick is reportedly one of the top candidates to take the hot seat at Manchester United as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continues to come under increasing pressure.
After back-to-back defeats at Old Trafford to fierce rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, Solskjaer's position as manager is under threat.
The November international break is an ideal opportunity for clubs to make a managerial switch, given there is not another one until March, as an early appointment can give any new manager the best part of two weeks to get to work in their new role.
While United have backed Solskjaer in recent weeks — and he looks set to take charge of their next game, against Watford — rumours of potential candidates to replace the Norwegian still loom, as other Premier League clubs have taken action in sacking their managers.
Rangnick has a stellar record when it comes to transfers, having signed Sadio Mane and Erling Haaland for RB Salzburg, as well as bringing Timo Werner from Frankfurt to RB Leipzig before his move to Chelsea.
So, who would Rangnick sign if he replaced Solskjaer as United boss? And, who would he sell? We used Football Manager 2022 to find out...
United's transfers with Rangnick as manager
To find out who Rangnick would sign, we used popular football management simulation game Football Manager 2022 to simulate the 2021/22 January transfer window and 2022/23 summer transfer window.
We went into the Football Manager 2022 editor, added in Rangnick as United manager, and gave him full responsibility for United's incoming and outgoing transfers.
Here are all the transfers he was involved in for United, including both incomings and outgoings.
After appointing Rangnick in November 2021, the German elected not to sign anyone in the 2022 January transfer window, but there were loads of incoming and outgoings in the summer of 2022.
Summer 2022 transfers in: £326million
Leon Goretzka - Bayern Munich - £75million
Niklas Sule - Bayern Munich - £50million
Otavio - FC Porto - £43million
Christopher Nkunku - RB Leipzig - £40million
Ricardo Pereira - Leicester - £35million
Marco Asensio - Real Madrid - £30.5million rising to £45million
Dusan Vlahovic - Fiorentina - £30million
Juan Cuadrado - Juventus - £22.5million
Rangnick brought in midfield powerhouse, Leon Goretzka, and central defender, Niklas Sule, from Bayern Munich ahead of the 2022/23 season. Both players have immense physical attributes, suggesting Rangnick wanted to improve the physicality in the United squad by adding more height and power in key areas of the pitch.
Rangnick added quality and experience in the full-back positions bringing in Cuadrado and Pereira, whilst also adding energy, creativity and flair in midfield with Otavio, Asensio and Nkunku coming into the team.
Striker Dusan Vlahovic was also signed in attack, with veteran Juan Cuadrado also arriving for depth in the full-back positions.
Summer 2022 transfers out: £141million
Aaron Wan-Bissaka - Arsenal - £45million
Donny van de Beek - Barcelona - £25million
Anthony Martial - Lille - £25million
Fred - Everton - £12.5million
Eric Bailly - Sevilla - £10million
Hannibal Mejbri - Arsenal - £8.25million
Diogo Dalot - Benfica - £8million
Nemanja Matic - Newcastle - £7.5million
Juan Mata - Newcastle - Free
Tahith Chong - Stoke - Free
Bjorn Hardley - SC Braga - Free
The departure of Wan-Bissaka and Dalot suggests Rangnick didn't fancy either player in the right-back position and instead opted to bring in his own profile of player to play in that area of the pitch.
There was also a shake-up in midfield as Matic, Mata, Fred and van de Beek all left the club, as Goretzka, Otavio, Nkunku and Asensio all joined United.
Anthony Martial was also sold to Lille for a measly £25 million, with Vlahovic already being brought in as his replacement.
Bailly was deemed to be surplus to requirements and let go for a minimal fee to Sevilla, as Niklas Sule joined United from Bayern Munich.
This is what the United XI looked like at the start of the 2022/23 season, with Rangnick as manager...
4-2-3-1: De Gea; Pereira, Varane, Sule, Shaw; Goretzka, Nkunku; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Ronaldo.
Rangnick clearly didn't fancy Harry Maguire, with new signing Sule coming into the side. The German completely transformed United's midfield with the signings of Nkunku and Goretzka, pushing out McTominay and Fred.
Meanwhile, Sancho, who is struggling for game time under Solskjear, was a key player under Rangnick on the right side of the attack.
According to Football Manager 2022, Rangnick is not afraid to splash the cash, spending over £300million on a mix of youth and experience in all areas of the squad.
Rangnick raided the German top-flight, a league he is familiar with, bringing Leon Goretzka and Niklas Sule to Old Trafford from Bayern Munich, along with Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig.
Would you be happy with this United lineup next season? Let us know in the comments below.
