LONDON: Ralf Rangnick, the former RB Leipzig head coach, is on the brink of being appointed as interim manager of Manchester United.

The 63-year-old German is currently the director of sports and development at Lokomotiv Moscow.

United sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Sunday after a 4-1 defeat at Watford.

That was United’s fourth defeat from five Premier League matches, a run that had seen them slip to seventh in the table, six points adrift of the top-four.

Michael Carrick oversaw a 2-0 win against Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday, but the club have been seeking an experienced short-term solution.

It is also believed they may have identified Rangnick in the hope he could fill a long-term strategic position, as a consultant or sporting director, at Old Trafford after his spell as interim manager ends in the summer.

Rangnick began his management career back in 1983 and has since led a multitude of clubs including Stuttgart, Hannover, Schalke, Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig.

Nicknamed ‘The Professor’, Rangnick is perhaps best known as the foremost influencers on modern-day Gegenpressing.

Rangnick’s only major domestic trophy as a manager came when he lifted the German Cup with Schalke in his second spell at the club in 2011, six years after finishing as runners-up in the Bundesliga first time around in Gelsenkirchen.

More recently, the 63-year-old has built a reputation as a sporting director, helping to lift RB Leipzig from the lower leagues of German football to one of Bayern Munich’s closest rivals.

########