Manchester United want to get closer to Chelsea and Liverpool - so they are hiring the manager who inspired the world-class coaches of those Premier League clubs.
Ralph Rangnick and the Red Devils have reached an agreement for the German to become the club's interim boss until the end of this season after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sacking last week.
The 63-year-old, who also has a two-year deal to become a consultant at Old Trafford when his contract ends in May 2022, is known as the 'Godfather of the Gegenpress' and has mentored some of Europe's top managers.
Manchester United have agreed a deal to hire Ralph Rangnick as their new interim manager
Rangnick (left) has influenced the careers of Jurgen Klopp (right) and Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel of Chelsea, Bayern Munich's Julian Nagelsmann and Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool have all named Rangnick as a vital influence - and there are comparisons between the latter and Rangnick's style of play.
That is according to the soon-to-be United manager himself, who even used the same 'rock and roll' and 'heavy metal' terminology that Klopp has been using ever since his Borussia Dortmund days.
In an "interview with the Coaches Voice in September of this year, Rangnick told up-and-coming coaches: 'Our idea is clear: it's very, very similar to my almost-coaching friend Jurgen Klopp.
'Our football is very heavy metal, rock and roll and it's not slow balls. It's not square passes, back passes. Just having the ball ourselves doesn't make sense.'
Rangnick is known for his 'heavy metal' football that is similar to that of Liverpool's Klopp
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With the ball, Rangnick's teams are fast and aggressive with a lot of forward passing, but without it they are quick to get the ball back and relentless in their pressing game.
In the same interview, he said: 'Supposed myself, Julian Nagelsmann, myself, Ralph Hasenhuttl had informed our players at 12 o'clock at midnight: "We will meet in our training ground in one hour's time. We'd have a meeting in the locker room and then we'd play 2x15 minutes of 11 against 11."
'They would have played - in their sleep - high speed, counter pressing transitional football.'
There is also an important emphasis on set pieces. Ragnick made the observation that 30 per cent of all goals come from deal ball situations, so expect a great deal of focus in this area at Old Trafford between now and the end of the season.
Man United's under-fire players will get clean slates and second chances under Rangnick
United's fringe players will also feel like they have a second chance to show their worth at Old Trafford, with no stone left unturned with regards to player improvement under the Rangnick regime.
'We see it like a jigsaw with 500 pieces,' he told the Guardian in 2019 and our role is to ensure that we have each piece available to help every player improve. We help every individual in the whole club develop and flourish.'
United stars should expect late night phone calls, as Rangnick keeps producing ideas for players when those he coaches look to settle into bed - and deciding not to run in training is never an option under the German.
Rangnick's list of mentees is very impressive but his own influences include ones from England. Sportsmail revealed this week that the German has long held a desire to manage in the Premier League and there is a reason why.
His love for football was accelerated during a university year abroad placement at Sussex University, in the middle of his time studying English and PE in Stuttgart.
