Ralf Rangnick is set to become Manchester United’s new interim manager, with the club having reached an agreement with the German.
Rangnick will sign a six-month deal to manage United until the end of the current season, following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
He will then move into a consultancy role at the club for an initial two-year period, potentially becoming the club's first true sporting director.
Rangnick is not expected to arrive at Old Trafford in time for the weekend’s game at Chelsea due to work permit issues, but he is expected to arrive soon, with the club still in pursuit of PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino to become the next permanent manager.
When Rangnick does arrive, he could bring some trusty lieutenants with him to help steady the ship.
Here MEN Sport looks at the names who could make the move to United alongside him…
Lars Kornetka
Kornetka is a long-time friend of Rangnick’s, and has worked alongside him in various roles over the years.
Decribed by Rangnick as “the best video analyst we have in Germany”, Kornetka worked with him at Hoffenheim and Schalke before being appointed as his assistant at RB Leipzig in 2018.
He became PSV Eindhoven’s assistant manager in 2020, before leaving the club a year later to link back up with Rangnick at Lokomotiv Moscow, where he worked as a management advisor.
The 43-year-old is clearly hugely trusted by Rangnick, and would be a good bet to make the move over to Old Trafford with him.
Paul Mitchell
Although Mitchell didn’t work with Rangnick for too long at RB Leipzig, the 40-year-old clearly left a lasting impression on the German.
Mitchell acted as head of recruitment at Leipzig, having previously worked at Southampton and Tottenham – his time at Spurs saw him help the club sign the likes of Dele Alli, Son Heung-Min, Kieran Trippier and Toby Alderweireld.
When Rangnick was linked with the manager’s job at AC Milan last year, it was suggested that he wanted to bring Mitchell with him.
The Englishman now works as sporting director at Monaco, so would likely need some convincing to tempt him to Old Trafford.
Christian Mockel
The former midfielder has plied his trade as a scout since he retired as a player in 2006, and has worked with Rangnick on two separate occasions.
He first became a scout under Rangnick’s management at Hoffenheim, working for four years as he travelled all over the world and identified players for the club to sign.
Since then, he has had stints working for the likes of Nurnberg, Hannover 96 and SCR Altach, having worked as a sporting director at the latter two clubs.
Earlier this year, he was appointed as Lokomotiv Moscow’s new head of scouting, once again working alongside Rangnick on scouting, selection and analytical work.
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