Former interim manager Ralf Rangnick told Manchester United to sign central defender Josko Gvardiol before he left.
The Manchester Evening News claim that Rangnick recommended four potential signings before his consultancy role ended in its infancy.
Konrad Laimer, Christopher Nkunku and Erling Haaland were players Rangnick – who now manages Austria – urged United to target.
But he said that defender Gvardiol was a player United ‘must buy’, but Erik ten Hag has plumped for Lisandro Martinez at the heart of defence instead.
Rangnick recommended Gvardiol
If United had gone in for Gvardiol, they would have faced stiff competition from the Premier League and he would not have come cheap.
RB Leipzig have rejected a mammoth £67.5m bid from Manchester City for Josko Gvardiol, according to Bild earlier this month.
Tottenham have been credited with wanting to sign the Croatian this summer, but a move is yet to materialise, perhaps because of the potential asking price.
United were rumoured to be interested in the defender in June, before the players came back for pre-season, when the Telegraph reported United were considering a move for the man considered to be one of the most promising defenders in world football.
Gvardiol is a left-footed centre-back and can also fill in at left-back, where he made seven starts for Leipzig last season, so it would be a surprise if United went for him as well as Lisandro.
The Athletic report Gvardiol would command a fee in the region of £60 million, but the aforementioned report from Germany would indicate Leipzig are holding out for far more than that.
Marjan Sisic, Gvardiol’s agent, recently told FC Inter News: “He is strong, fast, intelligent, dynamic, courageous, gifted with good technique and capable of anticipating his opponent. And one who understands the game tactically.”
When asked to compare him in style to other centre-backs, Sisic responded: “Sergio Ramos and Virgil van Dijk’”.
But it seems Rangnick’s recommendation has fallen on deaf ears, with any work he did during his reign ignored as United embark on a new era.
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