Gary Neville has had his Ralf Rangnick theory confirmed after the German's comments following Manchester United's 1-1 draw to Chelsea in the Premier League on Thursday night.
United played out a draw at Old Trafford after Cristiano Ronaldo promptly cancelled out Marcos Alonso's opener in the hour mark. The Red Devils remain sixth in the Premier League table, only three points behind West Ham in seventh place.
Previously speaking on Sky Sports, Neville pointed out that his former club had appointed the 63-year-old on a 'information gathering' mission, until the club found a permanent manager. Rangnick was appointed as the short-term replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last November.
Neville said back in March: "For Ralf Rangnick, he's got a two year consultancy. He's going to pick the next manager, would you not think that he's going to pass information of how you've been with him? I would have thought, to be fair, that the chief scout, sporting director, new manager coming in would pick the players, but you imagine that what he's doing at this time is information gathering.
"He's coming here with a five, six month contract with a view to consulting for the club in the next two years on reconstructing the club in terms of appointing a new manager, he's going to pass on the information. In the last five, six years he's been working in that type of role [backroom], he's not been a coach."
That prediction has been proved right following the Chelsea draw as Rangnick confirmed he would be passing on information to the incoming head coach. He told Sky Sports : "I'm definitely looking forward to that. I definitely think it would make sense [passing on information].
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"I've been talking to the board quite regularly and obviously we were also exchanging our impressions of the current situation. For me it's important, together with Erik, together with the scouting department, we can build a new squad, a new group of players with quality and mentality that Erik, together with his coaching staff, will develop and lead this club into a range where supporters will want to see Manchester United.
"Erik is the manager next season and if he would like to get my opinion or hear something about how I assess the current situation, I'm more than happy to speak with him."
Ten Hag is set to hold his first meeting with Rangnick in mid-May after completing the current Eredivise season. Ajax are top of the Dutch league and are closing in on the title, and Ten Hag has so far been reluctant to discuss next season until the current campaign is over.
