STUNNING TRIPLE RATCLIFFE DEAL TO KICKSTART NEW MAN UTD ERA WITH £130M TRIO WANTED
Manchester United chiefs want to overhaul the ‘spine’ of the team this summer and Sir Jim Ratcliffe is ready to greenlight big moves for a Premier League duo and a Serie A star, according to reports.
There will be huge changes at Man Utd in the summer as Ratcliffe looks to make the Old Trafford club successful again, with this season becoming more and more frustrating. Manager Erik ten Hag is effectively ‘on trial’ over the next month as new technical director Jason Wilcox is conducting an enquiry into whether he is fit to manage the club next term.
Roberto De Zerbi, Thomas Tuchel and Thiago Motta have all been linked with replacing Ten Hag, while TEAMtalk revealed on Thursday that Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic is also in contention.
Not only will a managerial change likely be made, but a host of players will be on the move. As many as six stars could be sold by Man Utd this summer, including Raphael Varane, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
As per the latest from Football Insider, Wilcox and prospective sporting director Dan Ashworth hope to bolster the ‘spine’ of Man Utd’s starting eleven. This will see Man Utd sign a new centre-back, central midfielder and striker before next season.
The top defensive target is Jarrad Branthwaite, who has excelled for Everton this term and scored in the recent 2-0 Merseyside derby win over Liverpool.
Branthwaite is emerging as one of the best young defenders in the Premier League and Man Utd want to ensure he spends most of his career at Old Trafford.
Everton have previously been tipped to hold out for as much as £80-100m, though Man Utd are now ‘confident’ an agreement can be reached for £60-70m.
Man Utd chasing Branthwaite, McKennie
As the 21-year-old is left-footed, he would provide perfect balance to Man Utd’s backline.
Surprisingly, Man Utd are interested in landing former Leeds United man Weston McKennie to improve their midfield ranks, with Ratcliffe a big fan of his.
As McKennie’s contract with Juventus will expire next year, Man Utd can sign him for the reduced price of £20m this summer.
The 25-year-old is not Man Utd’s only midfield target, however, as they are also monitoring Branthwaite’s Everton team-mate Amadou Onana and Danilo of Nottingham Forest.
In terms of centre-forward, Man Utd have burst back into the race for Brentford’s Ivan Toney. Tottenham Hotspur also admire the Englishman, but Man Utd have a better chance of meeting his big wage demands.
Toney’s betting ban has seen his price tag fall from a colossal £100m to somewhere between £30-40m, which means Man Utd can snare a top Prem striker at a fraction of his true value.
The captures of Branthwaite, McKennie and Toney, which could be worth a combined £130m, would certainly help to improve the starting eleven and push Man Utd closer to the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Ratcliffe could also follow up on those deals by raiding Crystal Palace for electric winger Michael Olise. Arsenal and Chelsea also hold interest in Olise, setting up a three-way transfer battle for the 22-year-old.
READ MORE – Man Utd wages: Top 11 earners at Old Trafford revealed as Ratcliffe prepares to shred colossal wage bill
2024-04-26T08:23:17Z dg43tfdfdgfd