Ralf Rangnick believes serious consideration should be given to whether clubs sign unvaccinated players.

Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, has already admitted he would be dissuaded from signing anyone who refuses to be jabbed against coronavirus amid the health risk they pose.

And Rangnick, the interim Manchester United manager who hopes to add to his squad in the transfer window next month, said he shared Klopp’s concerns.

United are due to face Newcastle at St James’ Park on Monday night in their first match for 16 days following the postponement of their Premier League games against Brentford and Brighton due to a Covid outbreak at the club.

“Yes, I think it could be a consideration and I fully understand what Jurgen said but it also depends if you want to sign a player and risk him not being available,” Rangnick said.

“This is an issue the clubs seriously have to think about. If you sign a player knowing from the very first day that he has not been vaccinated, you have to be aware that he might not be available – not only for 10 days, but this could happen regularly in Covid times.”

Rangnick cited the example of Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich, who has admitted that he regrets not making the decision to get a Covid-19 vaccine sooner after the Germany international was ruled out until January due to the lingering effects of the virus.

Kimmich has not played since early November after struggles with minor lung issues since testing positive and is unlikely to play again this year. Rangnick said Kimmich’s experience was an example of the problems of players being unvaccinated.

“You had the example of Joshua Kimmich, who was extremely hesitant at the beginning and I think in the meantime he has realised it might be a good idea to get vaccinated,” Rangnick said.

“He caught Covid, he still has some problems with his lungs. Hopefully, he’ll be back after Christmas, in the new year, at full strength and can play again for Bayern Munich.

“I think this is an issue where of course everybody can and should have his free will but I think in football, especially at this level we are playing at, we need to try to convince our players to get vaccinated.

“To be honest, I don’t know which of our players have had two or three vaccinations. This is a question that only our medical department could answer but I know from our medical department that our ratio of vaccinated players is above the average of the Premier League.”

Even if unvaccinated players do not contract Covid, they must still self-isolate for 10 days in cases where they have had close contact with someone with the virus, a scenario Rangnick said could repeat itself several times over the course of a season.

“Those are the regulations, this is the case and, as I said, it may not just happen once, it could happen several times in the future and therefore it should also be in the interest of players to be vaccinated,” he said. “In the end, it’s a decision that each club has to take by themselves and find the best possible solution.”