Following the news that Ralf Rangnick is on the verge of taking over at Manchester United for the next six months, it didn’t take long for the Russian media to get quotes from Andrey Kanchelskis.
The former winger is the only player from Russia to have played for the Red Devils, donning their shirt for four seasons, making a total of 161 appearances and scoring 36 goals in the process.
He arrived from Shakhtar in 1991 for a fee of around £900k before being sold to Everton in 1995 for around seven times that, working with Sir Alex Ferguson throughout.
Kanchelskis knows the club well, and he believes that the German shouldn’t think twice about taking over at Manchester United if the opportunity is there.
Speaking to Championat in Russia, he said: “If Ralf is invited, then in England they know him and follow his work. This is a great challenge. Who would refuse to go to United to work? Everyone would leave. We must wish Rangnick good luck.
“Negativity about Rangnick? There is a lot of negativity towards foreigners in Russia. Let’s face it, foreigners didn’t succeed in Russia, but in Europe, they did well. We have our own mentality, they cannot adapt to our lifestyle”.
Rangnick’s last spell as a manager came between 2018 and 2019, when he managed Leipzig for 52 games, averaging 1.92 points per game.
While he isn’t expected to take over in the long run, it will be interesting to see what he can achieve in the coming months, all the while giving Manchester United a bit more time to plan in the long-term.
