Ex-youth player says Ryan Giggs could have ‘done a Pep Guardiola’ at Man United

Ryan Giggs would have been a better appointment for Swansea than Bob Bradley, and could even have done a job at Manchester United before they plumped for José Mourinho.

That's according to Mark Rankine, who came through United's academy before Giggs - indeed Rankine has compared the Welshman's potential ceiling to that of Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. "Pep Guardiola managed Barcelona’s B team for one year, not even top flight, and then managed one of the greatest teams to ever play having only one year of experience under his belt and that didn’t work out too badly," Rankine - who is now working as a football agent, told bwin.

“I think he would have done a really, really good job managing United before Mourinho was targeted. He knows the fabric of the club. Someone has to take a chance on him and when you look at Swansea’s situation, they took a chance on two people (Guidolin and Bradley). One of those could easily have been Ryan Giggs. “To get a stellar signing like Ryan Giggs, it will lift the club, the fans and it will immediately change the attitude. I also think he would attract a better calibre of player to the club he’s at – being the most successful Premier League player of all time.”

After leaving United as a teenager, Rankine played more than 200 games for Preston (photo credit: Allsport UK /Allsport)

Rankine is not the first ex-player with United ties who has championed Giggs, of course. When Bradley was appointed by Swansea, Robbie Savage took the club to task for overlooking his compatriot and suggested it sends the wrong message to young managers looking to break into the Premier League. Following the American's dismissal, Swansea have appointed Paul Clement - a man less than two years' Giggs senior who has coaching experience at clubs such as Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.