Paul Pogba has been urged to "show up" for Manchester United and prove what he is capable of as he nears the end of his Old Trafford contract.
The 28-year-old is set to return to United's squad for Friday's FA Cup fourth-round tie against Middlesbrough after three months out with a thigh injury.
France international Pogba has just four months remaining on his deal with the Red Devils and is now widely expected to seek a new challenge at the end of the campaign.
Regardless of where Pogba intends to play his football beyond this season, Rangnick simply wants the central midfielder to be fully motivated in order to find his best form.
"It's up to him now. His contract is expiring in the summer and if in the end he would like to stay or go somewhere else he has to show up," Rangnick said.
"It's not only in the interest for us as a club but it's in his personal interest that he plays and performs at the highest possible level in the next couple of weeks."
Pogba remains United's record signing, having rejoined from Juventus in 2016 for an initial fee of £89.3million (€105m), but the Red Devils now stand to lose him for nothing.
He has made 212 appearances in his second spell at Old Trafford, during which time he has scored 38 goals and assisted 45 more in all competitions.
While a new deal has not entirely been ruled out for the Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Juve target, Rangnick is only focused on the remainder of 2021-22.
"We haven't spoken about it so far, not only about Paul's situation but also with other contracts expiring we also didn't speak about new players so far," Rangnick said.
"My focus now is to play the best possible season we can and to be as successful as we can be.
"For me he is now a new player and he can show me and the team and the fans and everyone in England how good and what high level he can play."
Prior to sustaining his injury, Pogba led the way in the Premier League for assists with seven from nine appearances, averaging exactly one assist per 90 minutes on the pitch.
Despite him missing United's last 15 matches, only Bruno Fernandes (10) has assisted more goals than Pogba (seven) for the Red Devils in all competitions this season.
However, Rangnick insisted the World Cup-winning midfielder is not assured of a starting place in the team.
"For Paul it is in his own interest to play on a high level to have a good performance and do everything to get into the first XI – that will not automatically happen," Rangnick said.
United host Middlesbrough aiming to build on a record of 28 wins from their last 31 home FA Cup matches against sides from a lower division.
Rangnick confirms Bayern Munich contact
Ralf Rangnick has confirmed Bayern Munich have been in contact over their soon-to-be vacant coaching position.
Bayern are on the lookout for a new coach, with Thomas Tuchel set to depart at the end of the season.
The Bundesliga giants wanted to appoint Xabi Alonso, but the 42-year-old snubbed their advances, and those of Liverpool, to stay at Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayern's search has now seemingly led them to Rangnick, the former Manchester United interim boss who is now coach of Austria's national team.
Rangnick, though, is paying full attention to Austria's upcoming Euro 2024 campaign.
"There has been contact from the side of Bayern Munich and I have informed the Austrian Football Association," Rangnick said in an interview with 90 Minuten.
"We have a very trusting relationship. My focus is on the Austrian national team. We are focusing completely on the European championships.
"I feel very well here. At the moment there is no reason to intensively deal with this."
Rangnick has plenty of Bundesliga experience, having previously coached Stuttgart, Schalke, Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig.
While Bayern's hopes of securing a 12th Bundesliga title have long since been over, they remain in with a shout of salvaging their season, with a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid on the horizon.
According to Opta's predictive model, Bayern only have a 37 per cent chance of overcoming Los Blancos, however.
Austria, meanwhile, have been drawn into a Euro 2024 group that also includes Poland, the Netherlands and tournament favourites France.
Rangnick's team will face Les Bleus on June 17, before taking on Poland four days later, and rounding off their group campaign against the Dutch on June 25.
Haaland out of Brighton clash, confirms Man City boss Guardiola
Manchester City will be without Erling Haaland when they take on Brighton, Pep Guardiola has confirmed.
Haaland missed Saturday's FA Cup semi-final victory over Chelsea with a muscular injury he sustained against Real Madrid last week.
And the issue will also see the striker, who has scored 20 Premier League goals this season, miss out against the Seagulls on Thursday.
"Erling is not ready for tomorrow," said Guardiola, who added that City will be able to call on Phil Foden and John Stones.
"It's not a big issue but he's not available."
Haaland has scored, on average, every 109 minutes in the league this season.
However, the Norwegian has actually underperformed his expected goals (xG) of 23.7.
He has also chipped in with five assists, giving him an overall goal contributions tally of 25. Haaland has created 28 goalscoring chances for team-mates across the campaign.
After Arsenal's 5-0 thrashing of Chelsea on Tuesday, reigning Premier League champions Manchester City sit four points off the summit in third place, albeit with two games in hand.
Second-place Liverpool will aim to move level on points with the Gunners by beating Merseyside rivals Everton on Wednesday.
Liverpool line up Feyenoord coach Slot as Klopp replacement
Arne Slot appears to be at the front of the queue to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.
Klopp confirmed in January that he would be leaving the Reds at the end of the season.
Xabi Alonso, who has led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, was swiftly established as a leading candidate to take the helm at Anfield, where he starred as a player for the Reds between 2004 and 2009.
The 42-year-old, however, is staying put in Germany, and Liverpool's search for Klopp's successor has taken them to Feyenoord's door.
Slot has been previously linked to jobs in the Premier League. Leeds United wanted to appoint him last season before their relegation to the Championship, while he was targeted by Tottenham before they appointed Ange Postecoglou.
The Dutchman intimated when linked with Spurs: "A normal next step would be to go abroad and I've always said that the best league in the world is the Premier League."
Ideally, Liverpool will be aiming for a coach who can come close to replicating Klopp's style of play, and in particular has a flair for working with and developing young players.
Slot has enjoyed fantastic success in Rotterdam. He became Feyenoord head coach in December 2022, after leaving AZ, and went on to win the Eredivisie title in 2022-23, having reached the Europa League final in the previous season.
The 45-year-old has a 64.4 per cent win record from 146 games in charge, winning 94, drawing 29 and losing just 23.
His Feyenoord team have scored 329 goals, an average of 2.2 per match, conceding 147 in return. Slot's points per game is a hugely impressive 2.13.
Feyenoord are, though, set to relinquish their Eredivisie crown, as they trail leaders PSV by nine points. They have, however, won the KNVB Cup this term.
As there is no break clause in the Dutchman's contract, it has been reported that a compensation fee in the region of €10million (£8.5m) could prise him away from Feyenoord.
Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim is another coach who has been heavily linked with the Liverpool job, albeit he is reportedly in talks with West Ham.
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