Jim Ratcliffe’s dream Man Utd transfer team and the Old Trafford jobs at risk – Footymercato.com

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is yet to get through the door at Manchester United, but the shockwaves of his arrival are already being felt.

Ratcliffe is still waiting for his £1.3billion offer for 25 per cent of the club to be ratified almost a year on from the Glazer family’s statement announcing their intention to “explore strategic alternatives” for the club. Nevertheless, the wheels are already in motion behind the scenes at Old Trafford and Carrington, with important decisions being made in anticipation of the deal, which will give him sporting control of the club, being made official.

Richard Arnold jumped before he was pushed, announcing on Wednesday that he is stepping down from his role as chief executive. Ratcliffe is to undertake a radical overhaul of the club, which he has previously openly criticised for being inefficient and being “the dumb money” in town.

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Speaking freely to the Times in 2019, Ratcliffe explained his opinion on United and how he would do things differently. “They haven’t got the manager selection right, haven’t bought well,” he said. “They have been the dumb money, which you see with players like Fred.

“United have spent an immense amount since [Sir Alex] Ferguson left and been poor, to put it mildly. Shockingly poor, to be honest. We have a different approach here to be moderately intelligent about it. Try to do it more grassroots, trying to locate young talent.”

That philosophy means more changes are in the pipeline. Ratcliffe’s trusted director of sport across INEOS’ many interests, Sir Dave Brailsford, has been undertaking an audit of United and a ruthless approach is expected. Mirror Football understands there are major doubts over the futures of United football director John Murtough, technical director Darren Fletcher and director of football operations David Harrison, with Ratcliffe’s arrival likely to trigger wholesale changes.

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Ratcliffe has been open about his intentions. In a meeting with Arnold and Murtough earlier in the year, he openly criticised the pair for overseeing the signing of Casemiro – a 30-year-old who cost £60m and was handed a four-year contract worth £350,000-a-week.

Arnold has already gone, replaced in the short term by Patrick Stewart, who has stepped up from his current role as the club’s legal counsel and a member of the board. But Stewart won’t be keeping the job, with moves already being made to replace Arnold.

The heavy favourite for the chief executive role is Jean-Claude Blanc, the former Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain chief who joined INEOS in 2022 to oversee things at the group’s other clubs, OGC Nice and Lausanne-Sport. The Frenchman has previously worked as part of groups overseeing the Olympic Games and French Open tennis, as well as the Tour de France, so has lots of experience.

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Brailsford is another trusted ally of Ratcliffe. Most known for his key role in turning British Cycling and Team Sky into medal machines, he moved on from the sport after a report by the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, found Team Sky had crossed an ‘ethical line’ in its use of drugs such as triamcinolone to help prepare Bradley Wiggins for races. Brailsford has always maintained he was not involved in any alleged doping and was never charged. Having no first-hand experience in football, Brailsford would be likely to take a role overseeing things at United.

That is where a director of football would come in. Both Dougie Freedman and Paul Mitchell have been linked with such a job under INEOS at United. Freedman has been working in recruitment at Crystal Palace since 2017 and fits the Ratcliffe bill of success in finding young undervalued talent, like Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise.

Mitchell left his role as Monaco’s sporting director earlier this year and previously worked as head of recruitment at RB Leipzig, Tottenham and Southampton. He therefore has a lot of experience in recruitment and could be hired by Ratcliffe to take the reins at United.

Erik ten Hag has played a role in the poor recruitment Ratcliffe has lamented at United. The Dutchman’s influence is clear in the signings from his former club Ajax, like Lisandro Martinez and Antony, as well as with Sofyan Amrabat, who he worked with at Utrecht. Ten Hag’s position appears safe for the time being, but Ratcliffe is expected to speak with the manager about his ongoing feud with Jadon Sancho in an early show of authority.

Ratcliffe did not become a billionaire with an estimated wealth of around £16bn ($20.5bn), according to Forbes, by dodging big decisions. His arrival will have significant implications for the current backroom staff at United.

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