Manchester United are set for a change: could this summer mark the start of a new era at Old Trafford?
(Image credit: Getty Images)
It’s highly possible Manchester United’s summer transfer plans could be ripped apart owing to the drastic changes going on behind the scenes at Old Trafford.
After acquiring a 25 per cent stake in the club, British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, CEO of petrochemicals company Ineos, has wasted little time in stamping his authority around the halls of the sleeping English giant.
Omar Berrada has already been poached from rivals Manchester City to take over from Richard Arnold, who stepped down in November 2023, as the new chief executive.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is planning change at Old Trafford (Image credit: Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Berrada has vowed to prioritise matters on the pitch when he begins his new role and has plans to implement a proper structure to restore the Red Devils to their former glory.
It’s expected a sporting director and head of recruitment will be among the next incomings at Old Trafford, positions that currently don’t exist at the club.
That is believed to be partly responsible for United’s recent scatter-gun approach to making transfers. Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013, United have a net spent of more than £1 billion, the highest in England, which has returned just one FA Cup, two League Cups, one Europa League and a Community Shield.
But while an efficient backroom structure will undoubtedly help in the long run, it could scupper any summer plans that have already been set in motion.
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Manchester United have struggled in the decade proceeding Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement (Image credit: Getty Images)
Speaking on January 26, transfer journalist Ben Jacobs told FourFourTwo: “The challenge with Manchester United is that for the summer, the decision makers for who they're going to sign and how much they can spend, are not necessarily at the club at the moment.
“Manchester United may have plans for the summer because you're always trying to get ahead but once a new sporting director, possibly technical director or head of recruitment, and when Omar Berrada starts, all of those changes may completely undo any summer plans.
“We have to be quite cautious about Manchester United and targets now. Because they could change very quickly depending on who comes into the club.”
Andy is a freelance sports journalist whose work has appeared across a number of print and online titles, including Golf Monthly, Eurosport and TNT Sports. He graduated in 2019 and began his career working in golf before joining Future in February 2021 as a staff writer for Golf Monthly. Andy has since decided to branch out into other sports and now covers football, rugby, snooker, UFC, Formula 1, boxing, and others. He is a Manchester United fan and joins the FourFourTwo team at an interesting time for his club and the game as a whole.
