Ruthless Ratcliffe ‘open to offers’ for Man Utd superstar in sale that could enrage Ten Hag
Sir Jim Ratcliffe will reportedly entertain offers for a Manchester United superstar as early as January in the hopes of kickstarting a full scale rebuild, per reports.
The British billionaire hopes to see his partial takeover of the Red Devils cross the line before the month of November is out. ESPN claimed his purchase of a 25 percent stake could be ratified later this week. Other outlets have cited a more cautious timeline, though all agree Ratcliffe will be in place at Manchester United before the January window opens.
The winter window is shaping up to be a pivotal one for Man Utd amid their sluggish start to the season.
United have won nine, drawn zero and lost nine of their 18 matches across all competitions. The end result sees the club struggling to qualify for the knockout rounds in the Champions League, out of the EFL Cup and sitting sixth in the Premier League.
According to ESPN, Ratcliffe has no intentions of sacking Erik ten Hag once assuming full control of sporting matters at Old Trafford. Director of football, John Murtough, might not be so lucky.
Ratcliffe is planning a squad ‘reset’ and reportedly wants additions made at right-back and in the winger position. To free up room in the squad, Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho will be axed.
Raphael Varane is another who could leave amid growing interest from Saudi Arabia. Varane’s replacement could come from a club Ratcliffe owns – Ligue 1 outfit Nice.
But according to a fresh update from talkSPORT, another Man Utd superstar could be on the move as Ratcliffe aims to sweep clean in his early days at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe ‘open to offers’ for Casemiro
talkSPORT state Ratcliffe is ‘open to offers’ for midfielder Casemiro. As such, Man Utd will now ‘consider cashing in’ on the Brazilian who is among the club’s top earners.
Casemiro cost a package rising to £70m when signed from Real Madrid in 2022. He was among United’s top performers last season and played a starring role in their EFL Cup victory as well as qualifying for the UCL.
However, Casemiro’s standards have nosedived this term and he’s currently sidelined until the new year with a hamstring injury.
talksSPORT add Saudi Arabian interest in Casemiro is swelling. That route would give Man Utd a chance to collect the type of sum they’d otherwise be unable to generate if selling to a European club.
How would Ten Hag feel about Casemiro exit?
What isn’t made clear in the piece is how manager Ten Hag would react to selling Casemiro.
Casemiro was Ten Hag’s signing and was a revelation in his maiden season in England last term.
His alarming drop off in form at the second time of asking is noted in talkSPORT’s piece. However, whether that’s a sign of age catching up or whether Casemiro was simply in the midst of a temporary dip in standards can’t be known for sure until he returns from injury.
If talkSPORT are correct and Ratcliffe gets his way, Ten Hag may be denied the chance to see whether Casemiro still has what it takes to compete at the highest level for Manchester United.
Ten Hag will no doubt be glad to hear Ratcliffe is planning to rebuild the squad at his disposal. But whether he’d be happy for the rebuild to come by way of selling a player he signed just three windows ago is another matter entirely.
