Manchester United are set for some major changes off the field and agreements are already afoot at Old Trafford as prospective investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe looks to put his own stamp on the Premier League giants, as per reports.
Manchester United takeover updates
Manchester United are just a week shy of being on the market for a whole calendar year after the Glazer family commenced "a process to explore strategic alternatives" on the same day that Cristiano Ronaldo controversially left the club by mutual consent. Of course, the question of the Red Devils being up for full sale is still debatable, given reports that the Glazer family didn't harbour the belief that anyone could get close to their asking price to take absolute control of the club at their expense, as per The Daily Mail.
Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani had submitted several bids to to try and buy Manchester United; however, his final offer of £5 billion wasn't enough to appease the Red Devils' much-maligned hierarchy and he subsequently withdrew from the process, leaving Ratcliffe in pole position to acquire a minority 25% stake in the club.
Ratcliffe and petrochemicals firm Ineos are now days away from being installed as minority stakeholders at Manchester United, according to Sky Sports. In light of this, changes are already taking place behind closed doors at Old Trafford, with Manchester United chief executive Richard Arnold set to leave the club after just two years as part of a major shake-up.
Manchester United's next five fixtures – all competitions
Competition
Opponent
Venue
Premier League
Everton (A)
Goodison Park
Champions League
Galatasaray (A)
Rams Park
Premier League
Newcastle United (A)
St James' Park
Premier League
Chelsea (H)
Old Trafford
Premier League
Bournemouth (H)
Old Trafford
Interim CEO Patrick Stewart will take over from Arnold while the search for a new chief executive takes place, and fresh reports have indicated who that man is likely to be, also giving insight into other potential off-field recruits at Manchester United.
Jean Claude Blanc in the frame…
Taking to social media platform X, Foot Mercato journalist Santi Auona has delivered some important news detailing who could be set to replace Arnold as chief executive alongside providing two candidates for the sporting director role at Manchester United.
"Jean Claude Blanc is set to become Manchester United's new CEO, once the purchase of Jim Ratcliffe's shares has been completed. MU also want Paul Mitchell. The former Monaco manager is ready to sign, but some details have yet to be finalized. MU has also held discussions with Michael Edwards."
Chief executive candidate Jean Claude Blanc was most recently involved with Paris Saint-Germain and was also CEO of Juventus; however, more importantly, his link to Ratcliffe is through the fact that he left the former to oversee Ineos' sports portfolio, including Ligue 1 side OGC Nice and Swiss outfit Lausanne-Sport.
Sporting director Paul Mitchell has been linked with Manchester United for a long time and has worked in senior recruitment roles at AS Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, RB Leipzig and Southampton, as cited by The Mirror. On the other hand, Michael Edwards was sporting director at Liverpool in his last position and also had stints as technical director and an analyst. At the same time, he has also held chief analytical roles at Tottenham and Portsmouth.
Whatever direction Manchester United choose to take in their new dawn under Ratcliffe, there is plenty of work to be done to ensure that the Red Devils return to the top table in English football.
