Man Utd miss out on midfield transfer target but Ralf Rangnick's plans receive boost

Ralf Rangnick may finally reunite with midfielder Amadou Haidara at Manchester United after the club missed out on one of their other transfer targets on Wednesday, Marcelo Brozovic.

The German manager was not able to sign any players in the January transfer window as the higher powers at Red Devils wanted to conserve their budget for when they appoint his long-term successor in the summer. United did not want any players arriving that may find themselves surplus to requirements next season in a new system.

Therefore, despite Paul Pogba being out of contract at the end of the season and Donny van de Beek pushing for a loan move, Rangnick wasn’t able to sign a midfielder. It was reported that the manager was pushing for Haidara of RB Leipzig, but United stood firm and Rangnick was made to head into the second half of the campaign with the same crop of players.

But Rangnick may now get his own way as Brozovic has put pen to paper on a new deal that will keep him at Inter Milan until 2026, having previously been set to become a free agent at the end of the season. Calcio Mercato previously reported that the Red Devils were ‘seriously thinking’ about signing the Croatian international.

Wages were an issue for Brozovic and his agent went as far as ‘proposing’ the 28-year-old to both United and Paris Saint-Germain. But with the midfielder now staying put at Inter, the Old Trafford outfit will need to reconsider who is a viable alternative.

Of course, their new manager – which looks set to be either Ajax’s Erik ten Hag or PSG’s Mauricio Pochettino – will have their own targets. But with Rangnick set to move into a consultancy role at the end of the season, he will certainly be pushing for Haidara once again.

West Ham