RANGNICK: NO JAB, SO IT’S NO JOB

Signing unvaxxed stars too risky for boss Ralf 8pm

St James’ Park, RALF RANGNICK says Manchester United are unlikely to sign unvaccinated players because he does not know how often they will be available to play.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp claimed clubs will be reluctant to sign the unvaxxed, as the Covid crisis continues to affect football, with a host of games called off due to outbreaks of the virus.

And United interim boss Rangnick said: “Yes, it could be a consideration and I fully understand what Jurgen said. It depends if you want to sign a player and risk him not being available. This is an issue the clubs seriously have to think about.

“If you sign a player, knowing from the very first day that he’s not been vaccinated, you have to be aware he might not be available – not only for 10 days, but this could happen regularly in Covid times.

“You had the example of Joshua Kimmich, who was extremely hesitant at the beginning. But he has realised it might be a good idea to get vaccinated. He caught Covid and still has some problems with his lungs. Hopefully, he’ll be back in the New Year at full strength, and can play again for Bayern Munich.

“This is an issue where everybody can and should have his free will but, in football, especially at this level we’re playing at, we need to try to convince our players to get vaccinated.”

United take on Newcastle tonight, their first game for more than two weeks, after fixtures against Brentford and Brighton were postponed following a

Covid outbreak within Rangnick’s squad.

The outbreak left him with just nine available outfield stars, but the Red Devils boss (above) said the number of double-jabbed players within his squad was higher than the Premier League average.

“I don’t know which of our players have had two or three vaccinations,” said Rangnick. “This is a question that only our medical department could answer.

“But I know our ratio of vaccinated players is above the average of the Premier League.

“A Covid outbreak may not just happen once, it could happen several times in the future, and therefore it should also be in the interests of players to be vaccinated.

“But, in the end, it’s a decision that each club has to take by themselves to find the best possible solution.”

The coronavirus outbreak at United forced the closure of the club’s training ground to the firstteam, with Rangnick admitting he spoke to most of his squad individually over the phone, to keep in touch.

“Obviously, during those four days, we couldn’t do it,” added Rangnick. “I spoke with most of the players who were either in isolation or positively tested.

“I spoke with 16 or 17 players individually over the phone, to hear how they were and how they were feeling.

“We did a lot of work in between, together with my coaching staff, preparing video footage, and we started to show the video footage to them from Tuesday.

“We’ll follow up on that because it’s important they really know what it’s about, how we should play, how to find the best possible balance of playing offensively and make use of the offensive players we have.

“But, at the same time, being able to defend and make sure that we get further clean sheets.

“Physically, they look good, so I’m not worried about the physical state the team is in, they seem to be extremely fit.

“It could also happen that we rotate from one game to the next, especially when you play every three days. But, right now, everyone is available, apart from Paul Pogba.”