Ralf Rangnick awaits work permit after agreeing to become interim Manchester United manager

The 63-year-old emerged as the first-choice candidate to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer until the end of the season after giving by far the best interview of the coaches spoken to by the United hierarchy on Tuesday.

While an agreement has not yet been signed, United expect the German to join once he has secured a work permit. The club still plan to appoint a permanent manager at the end of the season — Mauricio Pochettino remains the leading candidate — at which point Rangnick would take up a position as technical consultant.

Rangnick, renowned for his work as an executive with the football clubs backed by Red Bull — Leipzig in Germany and Salzburg in Austria — over the past decade, is at present the head of sports and development at Lokomotiv Moscow. He has told the Russian club that he cannot pass up the opportunity to manage a team of United’s stature.

For Lokomotiv it represents a big setback, having appointed Rangnick in July and invested heavily in his vision for the club. No public statement was made as Lokomotiv were preparing to face Lazio in the Europa League.

United had not intended to sack Solskjaer before their 4-1 loss away to Watford on Saturday. When the decision was made to part company with their Norwegian former striker, they had to start from scratch in drawing up a shortlist. That process was led by John Murtough, United’s football director, and their technical director, Darren Fletcher. They met at the club’s Carrington training ground on Sunday to identify potential candidates.

The list included the former Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde, though Old Trafford insiders insist that at no point was he offered the job. Seemingly he was no match for Rangnick when it came to the conversations that were had this week via video link.

Murtough and Fletcher were joined in those discussions by Ed Woodward, the club’s outgoing executive vice-chairman, who aborted his trip to Spain for United’s Champions League win over Villarreal to join the interview panel. None of the candidates was given much time to prepare but Rangnick stood out, not least for his depth of knowledge about the issues the club have endured in the latter stages of Solskjaer’s trophyless three-year reign.

It was at this stage that Rangnick made clear that he was not interested in quitting his role in Moscow for such a short-term appointment. Such is Murtough’s admiration for Rangnick, however, that he would like him to remain on the club payroll as a consultant for at least another two years.

Rangnick visited Old Trafford in August 2019 to watch United’s 4-0 victory over Chelsea. Murtough has also been to see him in Salzburg to pick his brains. In an interview with The Times in 2019, while he was at Red Bull, Rangnick said of United: “Since Sir Alex [Ferguson] left, and without being disrespectful, they were underperforming. Is that true? They haven’t won the title since he left.

“At any club, if you cannot get the right players, then you should at least not sign the wrong ones. You are in trouble if you do that in one or two or three consecutive transfer windows.”

He added: “There is a lot of space for a vision for United.”

As a manager, Rangnick earned respect for his coaching style and philosophy even if it did not always translate to trophies. He did win the German Cup in 2011 with Schalke, whom he also guided to the semi-finals of the Champions League, losing 6-1 on aggregate to United.

If, as is likely, Rangnick is not in place for Sunday’s Premier League game away to Chelsea, Michael Carrick will remain in temporary charge.

United remain keen to appoint Pochettino, 49, as permanent manager but have been unable to persuade Paris Saint-Germain to let him leave mid-season. Other candidates under consideration include Brendan Rodgers, the Leicester City manager, and Erik ten Hag, the Ajax head coach.