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Ralf Rangnick expecting "six or eight" new signings at Manchester United

Rangnick expecting
© Reuters
Ralf Rangnick expects Manchester United to bring in "six or eight" new players in the summer transfer window.

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick is expecting the club to bring in "six or eight" new players in the summer transfer window.

The Red Devils' Champions League hopes crashed and burned in a disheartening 4-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex on Saturday, leading Rangnick to apologise for a "humiliating" performance.

The defeat also means that Man United are guaranteed to finish the season with their lowest-ever points tally in the Premier League, and Rangnick will oversee a mammoth summer of change from his consultancy role.

The former RB Leipzig boss will balance his Austria managerial duties with the upstairs role at Old Trafford, with Erik ten Hag taking the reins from the 2022-23 campaign onwards.

Man United will be waving goodbye to a number of players who are out of contract at the end of the season, and the futures of several other under-performing members of the squad are also being called into question.

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo reacts on May 7, 2022© Reuters

When asked about his plans with Ten Hag for the summer, Rangnick responded: "We haven't spoken as yet but I can fully understand that both himself and myself that we should keep our focus on our current teams.

"Erik is leading the Dutch league and that's what he will try to win, want to win the league with Ajax. We have agreed that we will speak at the end of the season and have a chat about all the things he wants to speak about.

"In the end football is pretty easy; you just need to win games and in order to do that it's obvious with quite a few players whose contracts are expiring we need a number of new players.

"There is already at least something like a number of players that are really top players for this club but as I said we need all the other areas. [I] suppose there will be six or eight new players. They should be top players to strengthen the quality of the squad."

Ajax manager Erik ten Hag celebrates in November 2021© Reuters

Paul Pogba, Lee Grant, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard all see their contracts expire next month, and all five are expected to move on to pastures new when their terms run out.

Nemanja Matic has already confirmed his imminent departure, while Phil Jones and Eric Bailly have supposedly informed their teammates that they will be moving on too.

Cristiano Ronaldo is unlikely to head elsewhere just yet, but Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial both fell down the pecking order this season and are being linked with summer exits.

Benfica's Darwin Nunez has reportedly emerged as a leading attacking target for the Red Devils, who are also rumoured to have made an enquiry for Reims attacker Hugo Ekitike.

Aurelien Tchouameni and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic have been tipped to replace Pogba at Old Trafford, and the 20-time English champions are expected to reignite their interest in Villarreal's Pau Torres amid their defensive struggles this term.

Man United - whose final game of the season sees them take on Crystal Palace on May 22 - can now only finish as high as sixth and could still be usurped by West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers to finish eighth if they fail to overcome the Eagles.

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Written by
Ben Knapton

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Manchester United's Eric Bailly pictured on December 8, 2021
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