Ex-Man Utd boss was "set up to fail" after Ed Woodward snubbed four-man transfer shortlist

Demba Ba has insisted that Manchester United failed former interim manager Ralf Rangnick by choosing to ignore his four-man transfer shortlist.

The former Chelsea and Newcastle striker, 38, is an ally of Rangnick, who was mentoring him at the time he stepped in at Old Trafford on a short-term basis before transitioning into a consultancy role.

Ba was even lined up for a role at the club under Rangnick before work permit issues scuppered any chance of that happening, according to a new report from The i.

Rangnick was not kept on after his poor stint in charge of the team, but Ba insists he was hung out to dry by the United hierarchy after the German submitted a list of potential transfer targets during his ill-fated stint at the club.

The list, which was submitted in January 2022, included several players who have now established themselves as bonafide stars after moving for substantial transfer fees including Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland. But those recommendations were shunned by the United hierarchy including Ed Woodward, who was still in situ as executive vice-chairman at the time.

“I speak from time to time with Ralf still,” Ba explains. “He is not a guy who reaches out, he keeps you in his heart from afar. Amazing guy. People talk about him being a failure at Manchester United but that’s not so. He was set up to fail, really.

“If you had the list in your head that he gave to Manchester United to sign when he was there you’d be amazed. This was in January 2022. Josko Gvardiol was on it. Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland were on it, that’s for sure. Enzo Fernandez, now at Chelsea, was there.

“You forget but he had a big list of players. He diagnosed the problems at the club but the governance was not right there. It’s