Manchester United takeover news live Sir Jim Ratcliffe latest as Jean-Claude Blanc linked to Man Utd

United are still a big price to get top four.

Top Four Finish

• City – 1/250
• Arsenal – 1/6
• Liverpool – 2/9
• Tottenham – 13/8
• Newcastle – 9/4
• Aston Villa – 4/1
• United – 4/1
• Chelsea – 9/2

Odds via Betway.

Jean-Claude Blanc could succeed Richard Arnold as United’s CEO, according to The Telegraph.

Blanc is a leading figure at Ineos Sport and Arnold jumped before he was pushed ahead of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of a 25 per cent stake in the club being ratified.

The report claims Blanc, who left a senior role at Paris St-Germain last December to oversee the entire Ineos Sport portfolio, is under consideration to replace Arnold.

Blanc was also formerly the chief executive at Juventus.

Sancho remains banished from the first-team and he’s set to leave.

Sancho to sign for before February 2, 2024

• Not to sign or agree a contract with any other club 13/10
• Juventus 3/1
• Any Saudi Arabian Club 4/1
• Chelsea 6/1
• Dortmund 15/2
• Tottenham, Manchester City 9/1

Odds via Betfair.

Juventus want to sign Jadon Sancho in the January window, according to the Daily Mail.

Sancho has been frozen out of the first-team since the start of September, when he publicly branded Ten Hag a liar over his absence from the United squad to play Arsenal.

This report claims representatives from Juventus were in the UK last week and are understood to have made contact with United over the possibility of a loan move in January.

Sir Dave Brailsford has been visiting Manchester United’s Carrington training complex ahead of the Ineos Group’s impending investment into the club.

Brailsford, the sporting director of Ineos, is understood to have made at least two trips to Carrington in recent weeks. Brailsford was driven onto the premises in a blacked-out vehicle.

The former head of British cycling and Team Sky was part of the Ineos delegation that visited Old Trafford and Carrington in March, along with Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe and director Andy Currie.

Ratcliffe is on the verge of securing a 25 per cent stake in United worth £1.3billion, with confirmation anticipated within the next week or so.

Senior United sources say Ineos were impressed with the club’s presentation and lauded their “detail and depth”.

Arnold and Woodward are friends, the pair both graduated from Bristol University and they share the same background in finance. They are Glazer acolytes.

Neither man should have found themselves with such power at United but a new era is now on the horizon.

Arnold replaced Woodward as the club’s kingmaker in February 2022 when he was appointed as CEO, but he’s spent just 21 months in that role and his expected departure was confirmed on Wednesday morning.

With Arnold on his way out, United were in need of an interim appointment as CEO and they have turned to Stewart.

While he has only taken on the role on a temporary basis, he will still be tasked with steering the ship at United in a time of upheaval.

United believe he is a safe pair of hands to do just that.

Yesterday was a busy day for United.

Richard Arnold is set to leave the club by the end of the year. The 52-year-old was always expected to depart once Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid to buy a 25 per cent stake in the club was made official, with the deal expected to be ratified during the international break.

United are yet to confirm Ratcliffe’s proposed £1.3billion investment, but Arnold’s departure is one of a number of changes expected as part of the British billionaire’s review of the sporting structure.