MANCHESTER UNITED owners the Glazers are finally ready to sell – and SunSport can exclusively reveal that British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is their preferred bidder.
And that would mean an imminent exodus of the rest of the Old Trafford top brass including chief executive Richard Arnold – but not the two Glazer siblings.
Meanwhile, the Red Devils have reportedly tabled a £104m bid for Borussia Dortmund superstar Jude Bellingham.
But United won't stop there as they are weighing up a potential recording-breaking bid for Benfica forward Goncalo Ramos who they plan to partner with Harry Kane up-top, according to reports.
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Keep up to date with all the latest news from Old Trafford…
- Anthony Chapman
New look for Red Devils?
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is favourite to replace the Glazers as the head of Manchester United this summer.
And he is sure to bankroll a major transfer upheaval for a highly-anticipated transfer charge.
Defence, midfield and attack are all on the agenda for Erik ten Hag… as well as a new goalie.
Is this how United will line up next season?
- Tony Robertson
Good morning Man Utd fans
Manchester United are weighing up a potential recording-breaking bid for Benfica star Goncalo Ramos and plan to partner him up with Tottenham superstar Harry Kane.
Kane is United's main target this summer as manager Erik ten Hag looks to bolster his attack.
While according to The Mirror, Ramos is seen as an exciting prospect for the future and has scored 25 goals across all competitions for the Lisbon giants this season.
And it is thought Ten Hag would like to pair the two at Old Trafford next term.
Meanwhile, United bidder Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani is keen to hire club legends at Old Trafford if he takes over from the Glazers in the summer.
That includes Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, who would be undertaking various important roles at United.
That is according to ESPN, who claim the Qatari businessman will offer them senior roles.
That is because the potential new owner wants to emulate European giants like AC Milan, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Real Madrid by bringing in former greats.
And United are in advanced talks to land Napoli star Kim Min-jae.
According to TuttoMercatoWeb, the Red Devils are eager to activate Kim’s release clause ahead of the summer transfer window.
The same report suggests the centre-back’s release clause with the newly-crowned Serie A champions is in the region of £43million and £52m.
The Manchester giants will activate this clause in the first 15 days of June and negotiations between the two parties appear to have been ongoing for some time.
United are said to have been in contact with the South Korea international since the 2022 World Cup and have made him their top priority.
Finally, Kane dropped another hint he is ready to stay in north London for one more season and snub United.
Despite a 15th campaign without a trophy, the star striker is convinced managerless Spurs can still be competitive "with the right people" at the helm.
Kane said: “It’s been a difficult season. Probably the last couple of years we haven’t been where we want to be as a club, so there’s some internal stuff we need to talk about.
“We need to discuss standards around the team and the training ground, which we need to get back to. We had those in place when Mauricio Pochettino was here.
"The chairman will make a decision on what he thinks is best for the club, in terms of the coach and who he wants to bring in, the players to go and who he wants to bring in.
“I always think you’re never too far away from being competitive with the right people. But also, you’re never too far away from dropping down to tenth because that is the standard.
“It’s an important moment to feel a connection again with the fans, who I know have been frustrated. We need to try to build that relationship back up and try to all push in the same direction.”
- Kostas Lianos
United make Bellingham bid
Manchester United have tabled a £104million bid for Borussia Dortmund superstar Jude Bellingham.
Bellingham is one of the hottest talents in Europe right now and is believed to be close to a move to Real Madrid.
However, United are going to try their luck by striking a deal with Dortmund, according to TuttoMercatoWeb.
Manchester City and Liverpool were also previously linked but reportedly pulled out due to the midfielder's astronomical price.
- Kostas Lianos
Chelsea to hijack United target
Chelsea could hijack Manchester United's reported move for Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Sky Italia reporter Gianluca Di Marzio said: "I don’t know if they’ll make an offer in the next weeks, it’s [still] early.
"But Inter knows Onana is in the lists of Chelsea and Manchester United.
"Inter will ask for €50million (£44m) minimum for him. And congratulations to Inter because they got him out of contract from Ajax [as a free agent]."
- Kostas Lianos
Bayern discuss United targets
Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn is keeping his cards close to his chest when asked about the club's attempts to sign a new striker.
Bayern have been linked with Manchester United targets Harry Kane and Randal Kolo Muani of Tottenham and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively.
Kahn told BILD: "No comment on Harry Kane. I won’t say anything on players who’re not our players”.
"Kolo Muani? Same. I don't want to talk about players of other clubs. But we're assessing the striker market."
- Kostas Lianos
More from Eriksen
Manchester United star Christian Eriksen won the World Comeback of the Year accolade at the recent Laureus Sports Awards, but his only real focus is his family.
Partner Sabrina Kvist Jensen, 31, his son Alfred, 5, and daughter, 2, are now the playmaker's priority.
Eriksen said: "For me, it’s been a lot more important just coming back and being a person than coming back and doing anything else.
"For me, the first aim was to come back and be a full-time dad and a full-time boyfriend. That, for me, is the most important.”
- Kostas Lianos
Chris of life
Manchester United star Christian Eriksen watched footage of himself collapsing from his hospital bed just a day after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch.
Eriksen dropped to the floor in the first-half during the Euro 2020 group stage clash between Denmark and Finland.
Eriksen told The Telegraph: "I actually saw it almost the day after it happened, just really to see what happened and get through all the emotions and prepare myself for later.
"But it never gets any easier. You watch it and then you don’t really think about what it is. You just look at it and then that’s it.
"What I’ve personally learnt, is really just enjoy while you’re here and enjoy whatever comes and play football if it’s fun. And if it’s not fun, do something else."
Credit: Getty - Kostas Lianos
Ready to return
Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has backed former assistant and Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick to one day become manager at Old Trafford.
Solskjaer told The Athletic: "Michael is a proper human being, a proper man who you want to be successful.
"There’s no s**t about him, he does what he does for the right reasons.
“He’s a winner, a massive winner, yet he stays in control of his emotions. He knows what he wants and doesn’t lose his rag. He’ll never be emotional and fight with the players.
“At United, I’d sometimes see Michael talk to the players. Some of these were ex-team-mates of his which isn’t easy, but he had an authority about him.
"I am 100 per cent sure that Michael will be the manager of Manchester United if he wants to be."
- Kostas Lianos
Made his Marc
Manchester United star Marcus Rashford's cousin is also an international star – but not for England.
Lois Maynard is the lesser-known member of the Rashford family and has just been released by National League outfit Oldham.
The 34-year-old centre-back and defensive midfielder has bounced around lower league clubs including Tranmere, Halifax Town, Salford and Stockport in his lengthy career.
Amongst his achievements, he played the full 90 minutes for Stockport when they lost to West Ham 1-0 in the FA Cup in 2021.
Maynard was also on the books at the club when they won the National League last year, but he could not pick up a winners medal as he was out on loan with Solihull Moors.
The versatile player even has 12 international caps to his name after featuring for Saint Kitts and Nevis.
- Kostas Lianos
Red in the face
A dad and son were left devastated after travelling 300 miles to watch Manchester United play, only to be turned away because of a mistake.
Lifelong fans Michael Mulholland and his 18-year-old son Jack made the long journey by ferry and coach from Belfast to watch United's Premier League clash against Aston Villa on April 30.
The Manchester United tickets were purchased by Michael's wife as part of a package and they were a Christmas present the father and son had been looking forward to for months.
Arriving at the stadium two hours early, Michael and Jack went to go take their seats in the stands and the former claims he was able to pass through the turnstile easily, but when he looked behind him, Jack appeared to have got stuck.
The family assume Jack successfully scanned his ticket, but made the mistake of not passing through the turnstile quickly enough, causing it to lock before he could go through.
Amid claims security staff said they couldn't help, Michael went back through the turnstile and the pair tried to get help from management but after two hours of trying, the pair claim nobody was able to help them, and they were forced to abandon the game.
- Kostas Lianos
Cher Ndour bidding war
Manchester City have joined the chase for Italian wonderkid and Manchester United target Cher Ndour, writes SunSport's Dan King.
United, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and AC Milan are all considering summer swoops for the midfielder, 18, who is currently at Benfica.
But City are now also in the hunt for a player who has been compared to Paul Pogba – his childhood idol.
The Pogba link led to assumptions that Ndour would be keen to join his hero at Juventus.
But the 6ft 3in teenager is not thought to favour a return to Italy as he considers his options.
SunSport understands that City scouts have been watching him closely in action for both Benfica and Italy’s Under-20 side.
Credit: Getty - Kostas Lianos
'What a melt'
Manchester City fans were left fuming with Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand after his wild reaction to Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior's goal.
Ferdinand was working for BT Sport as a pundit for City's thrilling Champions League semi-final first-leg draw with Real that ended 1-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
BT shared footage at half time of their pundits in the studio reacting to Vinicius breaking the deadlock.
The former England international jumped from his seat in excitement and screamed: “Oh my God. That’s what he does!
“Vinicius Jr the difference. The difference. The soul snatcher. The soul snatcher. Wow. Wow. Vamos!”
- Kostas Lianos
I Kane stay
Tottenham superstar Harry Kane dropped another hint he is ready to stay in north London for one more season and snub Manchester United.
Despite a 15th campaign without a trophy, Kane is convinced managerless Spurs can still be competitive "with the right people" at the helm.
The striker said: “It’s been a difficult season. Probably the last couple of years we haven’t been where we want to be as a club, so there’s some internal stuff we need to talk about.
“We need to discuss standards around the team and the training ground, which we need to get back to. We had those in place when Mauricio Pochettino was here.
"The chairman will make a decision on what he thinks is best for the club, in terms of the coach and who he wants to bring in, the players to go and who he wants to bring in.
“I always think you’re never too far away from being competitive with the right people. But also, you’re never too far away from dropping down to tenth because that is the standard.
“It’s an important moment to feel a connection again with the fans, who I know have been frustrated. We need to try to build that relationship back up and try to all push in the same direction.”
- Kostas Lianos
Show me the Muani
Manchester United will have to pay at least £80million to sign Eintracht Frankfurt star Randal Kolo Muani this summer.
Eintracht CEO Axel Hallmann has now confirmed the Bundesliga club will command a huge fee for Kolo Muani – who joined on a free transfer at the beginning of the season.
Hallman told TeamTalk: "Kolo Muani? When I look at the international market, I imagine a different number than €90m (£78m) – more than this.
"He has a long-term deal. My absolutely ideal scenario would be that he stays with Eintracht."
- Kostas Lianos
Get Kim in
Manchester United are in advanced talks to land Napoli star Kim Min-jae.
And now according TuttoMercatoWeb, United are eager to activate Kim’s release clause ahead of the summer transfer window.
The same report suggests the centre-back’s release clause with the newly-crowned Italian champions is in the region of £43million and £52m.
The Red Devils will activate this clause in the first 15 days of June and negotiations between the two parties appear to have been ongoing for some time.
United are said to have been in contact with Kim since the 2022 World Cup and have made the South Korea international their first priority.
Credit: Rex
- Kostas Lianos
Mour to come
Roma manager Jose Mourinho has identified his first signing at Paris Saint-Germain.
But the move could tear apart Manchester United’s transfer plans ahead of the summer transfer window.
Former Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham boss Mourinho is being strongly tipped for the PSG job.
According to Foot Mercato, the Portuguese tactician has already held a meeting with club chiefs expressing his desire to move to Paris.
It’s claimed Fiorentina star Sofyan Amrabat is the ex-Real madrid manager's first target should he get the PSG job.
- Kostas Lianos
Fer-Got about him
Ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler could be set for a return to the Premier League amid interest from Liverpool.
Hannover's Zieler, 34, left Old Trafford 13 years ago in search of first-team football.
The shot-stopper joined United in 2005 and was included in Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad for their League Cup clash against Middlesbrough during the 2008/2009 campaign.
But the former Germany international never made an appearance for the Red Devils and left for Hannover in 2010.
According to Bild, however, he could be set for a shock move to Anfield because Hannover’s ex-sporting director Jorg Schmadtke is expected to make the switch to the Reds.
Zieler is being heavily linked as his first signing given Schmadtke brought him to Hannover more than a decade ago.
Liverpool are looking for a back-up keeper to Alisson as their No2 Caoimhin Kelleher is attracting interest from Tottenham, Brentford as well as Brighton.
- Kostas Lianos
Diallo's FA Cup suit
Amad Diallo will be invited to attend the FA CUP Finnal ahead of a possible role in the squad next season.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Diallo has had a suit reserved in his measurements for the game against rivals Manchester City next month.
The winger currently plays on loan at Sunderland and thus can't compete in the final at Wembley.
But United are understood to want the Ivory Coast to feel involved as he prepares to return to the club ahead of their pre-season tour of the United States.
- Kostas Lianos
De Gea's extension
Manchester United star David de Gea has agreed on a contract extension.
That is according to The Telegraph, who claim De Gea and United have reached an agreement to extend his 12-year stint.
The goalkeeper’s £375,000-per-week salary has been reduced but his new deal involves incentives for matches played as well as performance-based add-ons.
The Spain international is waiting on the Red Devils to sign off the agreement before issuing an official announcement.
Credit: Getty - Kostas Lianos
Sheikh Jassim wants legends
Manchester United bidder Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani is keen to hire club legends at Old Trafford if he takes over from the Glazers.
That includes Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, who would be undertaking various roles at United.
That is according to ESPN, who claim the Qatari will offer them senior roles.
That is because he wants to emulate European giants like AC Milan, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Real Madrid by bringing in former greats.
- Kostas Lianos
Sheikh Jassim preferred
The Qatari-backed bid to buy Manchester United appears to be the Glazers' preferred option.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani is fronting the bidding war and is rivalling Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The banker and son of the former Qatari prime minister wants to buy the club outright.
However, Sheikh Jassim's most recent offer fell just short of the Glazer family's £6billion asking price.
Ratcliffe wants to buy just over 50 per cent of the Red Devils to take the majority stake, therefore allowing brothers Joel and Avram to retain 20 per cent.
Sports finance expert Dr Dan Plumley claims the Americans would prefer to step back from United completely and take the larger amount of cash.
- Kostas Lianos
Harry Kane pairing
Manchester United are weighing up a potential recording-breaking bid for Benfica star Goncalo Ramos and plan to partner him with Tottenham superstar Harry Kane.
Kane is United's main target this summer as manager Erik ten Hag looks to bolster his striking options.
While according to The Mirror, Ramos is seen as an exciting prospect for the future and has scored 25 goals across all competitions for the Portuguese giants this season.
And it is thought Ten Hag would like to pair the two at Old Trafford next season.
- Henry Tomlinson
Mour to come
Jose Mourinho has reportedly identified his first signing at Paris Saint-Germain if he gets the role.
And the move could tear apart Manchester United’s transfer plans in the process.
It’s claimed Morocco’s World Cup star Sofyan Amrabat is Mourinho’s first target should he get the PSG job.
However, Man United have been leading the race recently in England, so PSG could steal a march on the Premier League side the move.
Credit: Getty - Henry Tomlinson
Fergot about him
Ex-Manchester United keeper Ron-Robert Zieler could be set for a return to the Premier League amid interest from Liverpool.
He never made an appearance for the Red Devils and left to join Hannover in 2010.
But according to Bild, he could be set for a shock move to Anfield.
That is because Hannover's ex-sporting director, Jorg Schmadtke, is expected to make the switch to Liverpool.
And Zieler is being heavily linked as his first signing on Merseyside given Schmadtke brought him to Hannover more than a decade ago.
Full story here.
Credit: Getty – Contributor - Henry Tomlinson
Team news for United's Wolves clash
This game will come too soon for centre-back Raphael Varane as he continues to recover from an ankle injury.
The likes of Lisandro Martinez, Donny van de Beek, Scott McTominay and Alejandro Garnacho will all be missing on Saturday.
For Wolves, winger Chiquinho will remain on the sidelines as he recovers from a long-term knee injury.
Striker Sasa Kalajdzic is still out with a knee injury and isn't expected to return to the side this season.
Credit: AP
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