Despite their dearth of alternatives up top, Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick claims the board vetoed his plea to buy a new striker late in the January transfer window.
When Anthony Martial joined Sevilla on loan and Mason Greenwood was jailed at the end of January, the Red Devils’ numbers were significantly reduced.
Rangnick claims he asked the board to sign the required insurance because of the absences, but his request was ignored.
“I still believe that we should have tried [to sign a striker] in those 48 hours,” Rangnick said.
“The board [at the time] sees it the same way – they agreed – but they also spoke to the scouting department at the same time.
“Maybe we should have tried to sign a player in these 48 hours since we knew Mason wouldn’t be available and Anthony Martial had already left on loan. But we didn’t. Maybe I should have pushed even more in order to get this additional striker.
“The answer at the time was: ‘No, there is no player on the market that can really help us.’”
Players were available:
“There were a few: Diaz who is now at Liverpool, Alvarez who will be at Man City in the summer, Vlahovic who at the time was with Fiorentina.
“So those are just three of them that come across my mind now. The answer was no and that was it. We were still in three competitions: the FA Cup, the Champions League, at the time were fourth in the league.
“I spoke to the board and told them: ‘Shouldn’t we at least speak and analyze and find if we can at least get a player, on loan or a permanent deal?’ In the end, the answer was no.
“Maybe they didn’t want to do any winter [business]. 48 hours is 48 hours. It might have been at least worth to try and internally discuss it. We didn’t.”
The Red Devils play Brighton today.
