Due to a combination of work permit issues and Covid-19 related postponements, Ralf Rangnick has only taken charge of three Manchester United games in the three weeks since he was announced as interim manager.
With training disrupted as well, as the Omicron variant rips its way through United's squad, Rangnick has had little time to really press his football philosophy onto the team.
There have been promising early signs, however.
The German has implemented a new 4-2-2-2 formation which seems to suit the team nicely, they are now much more aggressive in their pressing and have been able to reduce the number of times they have been caught on the counter.
Rangnick has already made United much more solid defensively but improvements, especially at the opposite end of the pitch, still need to be made. United's wealth of attacking talent managed to drag them to narrow 1-0 wins over Crystal Palace and Norwich, but there is still a lack of invention that may cost them against more talented sides.
That is all to say the January transfer window can't come soon enough, as it will allow Rangnick the opportunity to bring in his own players that will be better equipped to implement his ideals on the pitch.
RB Leipzig's Amadou Haidara, an all-action, dynamic midfielder well versed in Rangnick's gegenpressing methods and just as capable in attack as he is doing the dirty work, has been heavily linked with a move — understandable given the link with United's new coach.
However, Rangnick has remained coy about any potential incomings so far. Instead he has spoken about the importance of getting to know his current squad, which is already bloated, before adding anyone else to it. Especially in the challenging January market.
Though, he did admit in a recent press conference that if a player could 'almost guarantee more quality' a move could happen, though targets will only be discussed around Christmas time.
"We haven't spoken about new players and it's not the time to speak about new players," he said. "It's the time to get to know the current squad in detail.
"This is the major focus for the next couple of weeks, to get to know the players that we have currently. The squad is definitely not too small, there are enough players in the squad.
"Maybe at Christmas or after Christmas there will be a possible time to speak about possible transfers in the winter.
"In my experience, winter is not the best possible time for sustainable transfers and with this quality of players we have here, it would in theory only make sense if you can get players who can almost guarantee you more quality. As I said from experience, this will be difficult in the winter."
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