Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS are closing in on a 25% stake in the club after Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani backed away from the bidding process. The plan for Ratcliffe is to eventually take full control of United.
The 70-year-old will bring with him a wealth of experience and contacts in top-level sport, and he’s already dipped his toes into the footballing world as the owner of French side OGC Nice.
Les Aiglons are going quite well in Ligue 1 this season, sitting second after going unbeaten in their opening eight games and instilling a disciple of Roberto De Zerbi – Francesco Farioli – as their manager.
If and when Ratcliffe makes his way into United, who are the players that he could look to take from Nice?
Jean-Clair Todibo
- Position: Centre-back
- Age: 23
- Fun fact: Recipient of the fastest red card in Ligue 1 history (nine seconds)
Let’s start with a player that United have an active interest in – France international Jean-Clair Todibo.
Those of you with an above-average memory and knowledge of European football might remember his short-lived spell as Barcelona’s next hope. Between 2019 and 2021, he made five appearances for La Blaugrana and was loaned out three times before signing for Nice on a permanent deal.
Todibo formed quite a partnership with Arsenal loanee William Saliba upon his arrival at the Allianz Riviera and has since blossomed into one of his country’s more authoritative centre-backs.
90min reported in August that Todibo was being monitored by United in case they managed to shift Harry Maguire, but he ended up staying at Old Trafford.
Khephren Thuram
- Position: Central midfielder
- Age: 22
- Fun fact: Named after an Egyptian Pharaoh
Son of Lillian and younger brother of Marcus, midfielder Khephren Thuram is making his own waves in football.
A gangly yet aesthetically pleasing and unique box-to-box midfielder, Thuram has already caught the eye of some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
United are actually pretty well-stacked in the midfield department right now, but if they ever needed another gigantic midfielder, they know where to find one.
Marcin Bulka
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Age: 24
- Fun fact: Ligue 1 winner, technically
Right, this is a little bit of projection on our part, but there’s still method in the madness.
Marcin Bulka’s tally of eight appearances for Nice this term is one away from matching his record for games in a season, so he’s still fairly inexperienced.
That said, the Polish goalkeeper has proven to be one of the best shot-stoppers in Ligue 1 so far, keeping five clean sheets and notably saving two penalties from Folarin Balogun in a milestone win at rivals Monaco.
Having spent three years in Chelsea’s youth ranks, he would count as a homegrown option for English teams. Football Manager players, get your squad-planning tools ready.
Terem Moffi
- Position: Striker
- Age: 24
- Fun fact: Played at the Buckswood Football Academy in Hastings as a teenager
The path to stardom has been an unorthodox one for Nigeria’s Terem Moffi.
