Breaking news: Manchester United coach Ralf Ragnick sends a message to United board about his dream defender’’ the gladiator’’ who will bring balance to his defense not maquire ,please we really need this guy he is too good .

 Ralf Rangnick will have the opportunity 

to make his mark on Manchester United's squad

 in the January transfer window.

Ragnick was appointed as United's interim

 manager last month. He'll stay on the touchline

 until the end of the season before moving 

upstairs into a consultancy role and Rangnick

 will have a degree of influence on transfers

 from that position.

The 63-year-old masterminded RB Leipzig's

 rise through the German divisions and 

shrewd recruitment inspired by Rangnick 

underpinned their every triumph. United  

fans will be hoping Rangnick can have a similar

 effect on the club's transfer policy, however

, any incomings in January are unlikely 

unless there are some outgoings, with personnel

 like Jesse Lingard and Phil Jones.

The Manchester Evening News understands

 that Manchester are preparing to move for

 a holding midfielder in the January transfer

 window, though, and RB Leipzig's Amadou 

Haidara has been heavily linked with a move

 to Old Trafford in recent weeks.

The only area that justifies investment is 

in central midfield. United will need a forward

 in 2022 but only after their attacking quartet's

 contracts expire in June. Anthony Martial's 

wantaway nature also strengthens the next

 permanent manager's hand for investment

 up front.

The pandemic is bound to make clubs think

 twice about selling players mid-season and, 

even with at least eight players absent at 

Carrington on Tuesday and the sudden departure

 of three arrivals, United had a squad of 18 

players to train with.

Charlie Savage's inclusion reinforced the

 lack of central midfielders suited to Rangnick's 

4-2-2-2 formation. Corentin Tolisso is out 

of contract at Bayern Munich in 2017, has 

reasonable international pedigree with France

 and is still only 27 years old. Boubacar Kamara 

is potentially being overhyped in an effort

 by Marseille to obtain a fee next month as 

his contract is also up in June, and he is perhaps

 too junior to have an immediate impact 

with Champions League qualification for 

next season on the line.

Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic has

 the ideal blend of experience and quality, 

another cracking Croat midfielder, albeit operating

 in a league played at a sedate pace. The 

29-year-old has started all of Inter's games 

this season, so would command a high fee 

despite his deal ending in the summer.

Tyrone Marshall

It feels like this United squad is on the verge

 of being in a state of flux given the number 

of wantaway players and those out of contract

 in the summer, but a revolution in January

 is impossible.

For a club of United's stature that needs 

players knocking on the door of the world-

class category to improve the starting XI, 

finding the right type of recruit mid-season 

is difficult. Trying to buy from clubs who 

still have something to play for is fraught 

with danger.

Central midfield is an obvious area for 

improvement, however, just as it was in 

the summer. United took a risk neglecting 

it then and it's becoming an issue now. 

Rangnick's 4-2-2-2 formation requires specific

 qualities from the holding pair and while 

he described Fred and Scott McTominay 

as "almost perfect", almost doesn't cut it 

if you want to win trophies.

It doesn't feel like Nemanja Matic, Donny 

van de Beek or Paul Pogba quite fit the bill

 for those roles, so investment might be required

. Amadou Haidara is an obvious name to 

float around, given his links with Rangnick 

and the fact that RB Leipzig are in transition

 at best, or decline at worst.

Poaching a player from another Premier 

League club at this stage of the season is 

almost certainly off the table, so United 

will have to target players like Haidara, 

or perhaps the French market, where the 

collapse of a TV deal, the pandemic and

 now a major battle with crowd trouble is 

having a major impact on the finances of 

clubs.

Which position does United need to 

strengthen in?