London : Head coach Ralf Rangnick admits that it is important to find out Cristiano Ronaldo’s future as he expects Manchester United to be in the market for a “couple of new strikers”.
“It needs to be a conversation with Ronaldo about next term, as Erik ten Hag prepares to take charge of the Reds, with Champions League football looking even more of a remote possibility,” admitted Rangnick during the press conference at Old Trafford, in the wake of earning a point against Chelsea.
When asked directly about the No.7’s future, Rangnick replied, “This is something that we should speak about between Erik and the board and myself. Cristiano has another year of contract. It is also important to find out what he wants, if he wants to stay.”
Leading scorer Cristiano Ronaldo took his tally for the season to 23 with a typically brilliant strike in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea and signed a two-year contract when rejoining the club last summer.
Rangnick said that the club will be in the market for a front player when the transfer window opens. He emphasised this point during the press conference at Old Trafford, in the wake of earning a point against Chelsea.
It was suggested the team is too reliant on Ronaldo for goals, as eight of our last nine in the league have been netted by the Portugal international, but Rangnick feels this has not been the case in the past, even if there is a likelihood that fresh blood in attack will be pursued during the close season.
“We have to still be fair with the players. We had quite a few other players scoring goals, I remember, in my first 10 games, we had 10 different goalscorers. It is how many opportunities can we create and how many goalscorers,” he stated.
“Right now, we very much rely on Cristiano, he also showed a good performance when Chelsea were in possession. But there has to be a focus on bringing in a couple of new strikers for sure.”
–IANS