Premier League cult hero Demba Ba almost joined Manchester United as a coach during Ralf Rangnick's ill-fated time in charge.
Ba, 37, retired from playing last September and has since moved into coaching. He's believed to be the chair of ASC San Diego, an amateur National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) club. The NISA is recognised as the third tier of football in the US.
Rangnick was appointed United's interim boss last November following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He was expected to be in charge until the end of the season before starting a two-year consultancy gig, working alongside the new permanent manager.
Yet that never happened following a tricky six-month spell. Rangnick won just 11 of his 31 games in charge as United finished sixth in the Premier League, recording their lowest points tally (58) in 32 years. They also crashed out of the Champions League and FA Cup.
Erik ten Hag was confirmed as Rangnick's successor in April - effective from May - and seemed reluctant to work with the German. "I will draw my own line," said Ten Hag when asked about Rangnick's influence, insisting his consultancy gig was "on the club".
Unspirsingly, Rangnick left United shortly after Ten Hag's comments. His consultancy role never materialised and he's now in charge of Austria's men's team. Yet Rangnick's time at Old Trafford could've been different if Ba joined his backroom staff.
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"When Ralf got appointed he called me, he said to me he wanted me on his staff," Ba told The I. "He said: 'You know the Premier League, you know players, you have a background that is close to theirs, you speak English and German and you can be the link between the squad and my staff'.
"For him he saw it as a perfect match and I’d be able to help him, he thought they’d respect me for who I was and what I’d done in the Premier League. It was a six-month assignment to go in and help but it didn’t happen because the visa didn’t get accepted.
"For me it’s not a regret. Getting experience is always good - it would have been good to get that experience. I’m still working as hard as ever in life, probably even more now."
Ba is best remembered by Premier League fans for his spells at West Ham, Newcastle and Chelsea. He joined the Hammers in January 2011 and made an immediate impression - scoring seven goals in 12 league games - although he couldn't keep them up.
Ba joined Newcastle the following summer and continued to find the net, scoring 29 Premier League goals in 18 months to earn a move to Chelsea. He famously scored in their 2-0 win against Liverpool in April 2014 by taking advantage of Steven Gerrard's slip, costing the Reds the Premier League title. He left Stamford Bridge for Besiktas in July 2014.
On why Rangnick's consultancy gig was scrapped, Ba said: "The plan was always to bring in Ralf to get their long-term target. That was the plan and it makes sense now they have their long-term target they give him the support and everything he needs to work well."
