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Manchester United officials are reportedly planning presentations on the club’s transfer strategy to deliver to takeover bidders. The Red Devils were put on the market last November by the Glazer family, with Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe currently believed to be the frontrunners to complete a purchase.
According to the Daily Mail, United’s football department will play a key role in the club’s potential sale over the coming days. The Red Devils’ scouting network, transfer strategy and first-team operations will be laid bare to bidders who have made it to the second stage of the three-step process.
And sources close to the process think much of the responsibility will lie with United’s football director John Murtough. The 49-year-old, who is from inner-city Longsight in Manchester, was brought to Old Trafford by David Moyes in 2013 and is in the prime position to give bidders an insight into the club’s recent history as well as their football operations.
The club’s commercial and finance departments are also likely to present, with the Qatari group heading to Manchester next week ahead of Ratcliffe.
Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe will enlist design and construction experts to estimate the likely costs of a new stadium or an Old Trafford refurbishment, as well as an upgrade of the club’s Carrington training base.
After the presentations have taken place, bidders will be asked to put together a second offer for the club before the Raine Group, who are overseeing the sale, report back to the Glazer family. They could then choose a party to enter into an exclusivity period with before negotiating a final price. And if things go to plan, the Glazers could agree a sale before the end of March.
United have enjoyed an upturn in fortunes on the pitch since they appointed former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag as their manager last year. And last month the Dutchman said: “Of course I know [about the bids]. There’s movement around the club but it’s not up to me. Others at the club are taking [charge of] this stuff and I have to manage the team.
“I have to make sure the team is perfect and getting the right results. Every third day we have a game so I don’t have time to get involved in stuff like this. It’s not distracting us. We are focusing on football, on the games and preparing in training. That is our job to do. It doesn’t distract us, so far so good.”
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