The Daily Star have reported that “Manchester United staff have been told it will be ‘business as usual’ until March – when Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s £1.5billion football takeover will finally kick in”.
It had been hoped that the deal would be in place before Christmas, but these reports seem to have been wide of the mark.
Manager Erik ten Hag has previously hinted at such news by stating that the club is unlikely to do any significant business during the January window. However, it was hoped back in October, when it became clear that Ratcliffe had won the race to buy a part-share in United, that the deal would be in a place in time for the club to have an active winter window.
Nonetheless, these dreams seem to be in tatters as there was a “clear message delivered at a recent internal meeting at Old Trafford outlining how the immediate future looks going into 2024. Basically, with the current status quo to remain intact through to early Spring, nothing is changing any time soon off the pitch”.
This means the club will have very little cash to do anything of note and this will worry fans greatly as the club currently sit in eighth place in the Premier League and have already lost an incredible 13 games this season.
For context, the 1999 Treble winners lost just four in the whole campaign. This vintage side haven’t even made it to Boxing Day yet.
The Dutch manager knows that without the input and impact of Ratcliffe’s huge investment, funds for strengthening the squad next month are limited at best.
Undoubtedly, investment will happen. “Whenever the formal announcement does eventually arrive, it will not lead to an overnight transformation in operations – as Ratcliffe waits to spend his money next summer as opposed to next month”.
The problem is, United need investment now, or it increasingly looks like yet another wasted season that could even result in no European football next year due to the competitiveness of the league this year.
Teams like Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal are already well out of sight and teams such as Aston Villa, Tottenham and Newcastle will most likely invest and show ambition in the winter market.
Even Jarred Bowen spoke about West Ham’s ambitions to make it into the top six this season, as they leapfrogged United after Saturday’s game.
