Ralf Rangnick may only just have taken charge of his first Manchester United game, but attention is already turning to who could succeed the German as the Red Devils’ long-term manager. United claimed a narrow win over Crystal Palace on Sunday to get the Rangnick era off to the perfect start.
He is set to remain as United’s interim boss until the end of the season, before stepping into a senior football adviser role.
Rangnick will then seek to appoint his successor in what United hope will be an appointment for the long-term.
Their interim boss is renowned as the godfather of modern coaching, with a number of his disciples in top jobs.
During his time as sporting director at RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg, Rangnick tended to appoint unheralded names as manager.
That group includes Ralph Hassenhuttl, Julian Nagelsmann and Marco Rose, with the latter two now in charge of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively.
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Rangnick is set to move into an advisory role at the end of the season (Image: Express Sport)
But it is his next stop in the Red Bull system that will catch the eye the most, as Marsch had a season-long stint as Rangnick’s assistant at Leipzig in 2018/2019.
Rangnick had stepped in to take over from Hasenhuttl, with the German bringing in Marsch as his assistant.
It was a successful working relationship, with Leipzig finishing third in the Bundesliga, as well as reaching the final of the DFB-Pokal.
Marsch was then promoted to the role of Salzburg manager, where he two domestic doubles, while coaching the likes of Erling Haaland, Patson Daka and Hwang Hee-chan.
Jesse Marsch spent a season as Rangnick's assistant at Leipzig (Image: Getty Images)
His success in Austria saw him named as the successor to Nagelsmann at Leipzig, but it proved to be a disastrous four months.
With a weakened squad following years of selling their best players, Leipzig were only able to win 18 points from their 14 league games under Marsch.
That has resulted in his sacking, with a move to become one of Rangnick’s assistants at United a possibility.
If that did happen, Marsch could join the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag in the race to be named Rangnick’s successor, with his experience working with the German a potential advantage.