How long will it take for Man Utd to rebuild their squad? Klopp may know the answer
FT Desk
- 4 Apr 2022 07:06 CDT
- 8 min read
Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has suggested that the club could turn around its fortunes and build a title-winning squad in as little as 18 months under the right new manager.
The Old Trafford side clung on to a 1-1 draw against Leicester City on Saturday afternoon and look someway off qualifying for the top four, never mind challenging for the Premier League title.
Trending
As such, fans have begun to grow anxious of what plans are being put in place at the club to turn things around next season.
However, speaking after Saturday’s game, Rangnick pointed out that the necessary squad rebuild shouldn’t take too long if the right manager is in place.
"Whenever the new head coach is clear, it has to be: how does he want to play and what kind of players do we need for that? Then we come back to DNA, speed, physicality, tempo. What do we need? This team does not lack technical players, it can do with more physicality,” said Rangnick.
"It takes right decisions and [clarity over] where you want to go: what kind of players, want kind of manager and then, in every transfer window, try to get the best possible.
"This is rocket science. It has to be done and, if that happens, it does not necessarily need three or four years. Maybe in two or three transfer windows, then the situation could be different."
So how realistic is Rangnick’s timescale for a club that hasn’t won a Premier League title since 2013? To find out, we may have to take a look at one of their historic rivals to find out.
How quickly did Klopp rebuild Liverpool?
When we dig back through the history books, we can see that Liverpool’s rebuild began in the very first transfer window with Jurgen Klopp, when he joined the club in the summer of 2015.
That summer, the club spent around £113 million on a number of players that went on to be stars, such as James Milner and Roberto Firmino, but also wasted plenty of good money on flops like Christian Benteke, Danny Ings and Marko Grujic.
It was perhaps in Klopp’s second season at the club that we began to see some real progress at Anfield, with the side signing Sadio Mane, Georginio Wijnaldum and Joel Matop, who would all become crucial players.
Then, to fit in as the final pieces of the puzzle, Liverpool spent the best part of £130m signing Virgil Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson, alongside the emergence of Trent Alexander-Arnold from the club’s youth side.
Although Liverpool finished fourth in the 2017/18 season, it allowed Klopp’s side to qualify for the Champions League and by the time the 2018/19 season came around his Liverpool team were ready to take on the world.
In May 2019, Klopp won his first major trophy with the club when his team won the Champions League, followed by the Premier League title 12 months later. Which, undoubtedly, suggests that Liverpool took around four years to go from top four contenders to champions of Europe and then England.
