An announcement regarding British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe's 25% purchase of Manchester United will allegedly be made before the end of the year.
The owner and founder of the INEOS Group is set to pay around £1.4m to buy 25% of the club, having beaten off competition from Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani.
According to Football Insider, the first stage of Ratcliffe's takeover will be announced 'within weeks', with the deal on course to go through before the end of 2023.
The 71-year-old is said to value Man United in the region of £6bn, which is around £1bn more than Sheikh Jassim was allegedly prepared to pay to complete a full takeover.
Ratcliffe is expected to take control of all sporting decisions at the club moving forward, but a recent report claimed that head coach Erik ten Hag is still expecting to have the final say on transfers.
© Reuters
The British billionaire is unlikely to be able to make his presence felt at Old Trafford until next season, although it is understood that he wants the club to be active during the January transfer window.
Ten Hag was asked about the off-the-field situation ahead of the recent Premier League clash with Sheffield United, but he said that he was "not involved" at this stage.
"So, at this moment, I'm not involved, so I don't know. What I know are the agreements I made once I signed this contract," the head coach told reporters.
"And until I hear anything, I just keep focusing on my job and focusing in this structure and focusing on my job. And that is winning games and get the best out of the season."
© Reuters
At one stage, Sheikh Jassim was thought to be the clear favourite, but it later became apparent that there was a split within the Glazer family when it came to the best course of action.
Richard Arnold could reportedly be removed from his position as Man United CEO once the partial takeover has gone through, with Ratcliffe having other ideas for the role.
There have also been claims that Ten Hag's future is in doubt, with ex-Chelsea manager Graham Potter potentially being identified as the Dutchman's replacement.
However, it is believed that the current manager's position is safe, particularly with the recent improvement in results, as Man United have won their last three games in all competitions.
The 20-time English champions will be aiming to make it four straight victories when they welcome reigning champions Manchester City to Old Trafford for the Manchester derby on Sunday afternoon.
