Ratcliffe revolution? How Man Utd could line up after INEOS takeover

Stuart Telford

• 11 May 2023 19:17 BST
• 4 min read

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has emerged as the Glazer family's preferred bidder for Manchester United. How might the Red Devils line up with the UK's once richest man at the helm?

Ratcliffe - who owns chemical giant INEOS as well as Ligue 1 club Nice - has pulled ahead of Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani in the race to own Man Utd, not least due to the fact that his bid will keep the Glazers as minority shareholders.

United will almost certainly sanction a summer spending spree for Erik ten Hag - Financial Fair play permitting - with the Dutchman having led them to the EFL Cup and on course for Champions League qualification in his first season since arriving from Ajax.

A new No.9 such as Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane is understood to be Ten Hag's top transfer wish, while Ratcliffe's Nice interest could help them acquire some key targets from the Cote d'Azur, such as Jean-Clair Todibo and Khephren Thuram.

Man Utd under Sir Jim Ratcliffe?

Kane or similar will be required to lead the line if United are to get anywhere near a first Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson's last in 2013.

Wout Weghorst has resolutely failed to replace the goals of Cristiano Ronaldo since joining on loan from Burnley, via Besiktas, in January, and United's 29-goal top scorer Marcus Rashford does his best work from the left wing.

Daniel Levy will no doubt demand more than £100 million for the England captain, but United backed by Ratcliffe would foot the bill, and Kane is Premier League-proven, unlike alternatives Victor Osimhen (Napoli), Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Goncalo Ramos (Benfica).

Ten Hag won six major honours with a 4-3-3 formation at Ajax, and he would reportedly like to bolster his midfield with players that could populate it. Thuram is one such man.

The younger son of France's most capped player, Lilian, Thuram breaks up play as well as anybody, but his average of three progressive carries per game over the last year make him an asset in more than system.

Casemiro has impressed since his €80m arrival from Real Madrid, but he could need some company with Marcel Sabitzer not yet signed permanently from Bayern Munich, Christian Eriksen an injury worry, and Scott McTominay reportedly available for transfer with Newcastle hovering.

In defence, Thuram could see his Nice and now France teammate Todibo follow him to Old Trafford. A physical specimen of a centre-back whom Barcelona picked up after just 10 senior games with Toulouse two years ago, Todibo has blossomed into a top class defender.

Harry Maguire looks certain to leave United with Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane now Ten Hag's first-choice central-defensive partnership, but with the latter injury-prone, Todibo could replace him at cub level as he looks poised to do at international.

At right-back, Ten Hag is a fan of his compatriot, Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong, and his shared use of Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka this season suggests he trusts neither fully.

Behind them, David de Gea might yet continue for now. The Spaniard has come in for increasing criticism this season - his ball-playing ability, or lack thereof, standing in sharp contrast to his shot-stopping - but he has been offered a new two-year contract…