Manchester United minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned that his ‘handicapped’ side will need multiple summer transfer windows in order to turn the club around.
The Red Devils are coming off the back of their worst-ever Premier League campaign, with their eighth-placed finish their worst league campaign since the 1989/90 season.
An FA Cup win over rivals Manchester City meant the club were able to end the season on a high – and more than likely save manager Erik ten Hag’s job in the process – but Ratcliffe knows significant changes are required as he and his Ineos team take charge of the club’s football operations for their first transfer window this summer.
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“There's room for improvement everywhere we look at Manchester United, and we will improve everything,” the billionaire told Bloomberg. “We want to be where Real Madrid is today, but it'll take time.”
Ratcliffe completed his minority stakeholding in the club in January, as he sealed a 27.77 per cent stake at Old Trafford and has set about hiring a new CEO, technical director and sporting director.
But only one of these hires – technical director Jason Wilcox – has been able to start work, with due to Omar Berrada and Dan Ashworth still on gardening leave as they sit out extensive notice periods.
“We’re sort of a bit handicapped in that sense, so I think we’ll do a fairly good job,” Ratcliffe added. “It will take two or three summer windows to get to a better place. I’m not confident that we’ll solve all the problems in the first transfer window,”
The club’s summer transfer wishlist is set to be a lengthy one, starting with a new centre-back and new striker, while depth is needed in several other areas. Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite has been heavily linked, with Ratcliffe hinting that the club will not be looking to sign superstars this summer.
“Manchester United doesn't have any players that are valued at €100 million or more,” Ratcliffe continued, as he admitted that one big-name new arrival “isn’t going to solve the problem at Manchester United.”
Ratcliffe’s first big decision this summer was to retain the services of Ten Hag, despite weeks of speculation that the Dutchman was a dead man walking during the run-in, but the 71-year-old is more concerned by the structure of the club, rather than the individuals.
“The coach isn't the central issue at Manchester United. It’s a sports club. It needs to be competitive, it needs a degree of intensity, but with a supportive side to it because you are dealing with players who are relatively young. It hasn’t had that type of environment historically.”
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