Ratcliffe to ship Man Utd outcasts to Nice in controversial transfers

Suraj Radia

• 4 Apr 2024 21:47 BST
• 3 min read

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is hoping to take advantage of his Nice links to sell three Manchester United players to the French side this summer.

Ratcliffe’s company INEOS own Nice while also becoming minority shareholders in United earlier this year and both teams are rumoured to be interested in multiple players from each club.

United have held a long-standing interest in Jean-Clair Todibo, while interest is also said to be strong in Khepheren Thuram and Melvin Bard.

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And HITC claim that United could also see some of their fringe players be under consideration by Nice, with Donny van de Beek, Christian Eriksen and Anthony Martial the fringe players reportedly in question.

Any transfers will prove to be somewhat controversial given the power Ratcliffe holds at both clubs but no rules are likely to be violated with any transfers between the sides.

United likely to offer fringe players as makeshift for wanted Nice stars

Todibo is perhaps the player with the highest chance of moving between Ratcliffe’s two clubs, with United considering the defender a top target to replace Harry Maguire if the England international is sold this summer.

United had Todibo on their shortlist last summer but were unable to raise the funds to sign the 24-year-old, who has continued to impressive as part of Nice’s defence that has conceded just 22 goals in 27 games this season.

READ MORE: Latest Man Utd transfer news

Another part of Nice’s defence is left-back Bard, who has reportedly emerged as a target for United, with talks already believed to be underway for the 23-year-old to move to Old Trafford.

Thuram is also an option in midfield with Nice likely to cash in on the 23-year-old as he enters the final two years of his contract and United could look to send Van de Beek or Eriksen the other way as part of the deal for any of the three Ligue 1 stars.

Martial, meanwhile, is expected to leave United at the end of the season when his contract expires, although the Premier League side have the option to extend his deal for another year and potentially sell the Frenchman for a modest fee, with teams from Saudi Arabia also interested.