Sir Jim Ratcliffe is ready to take drastic action to sign a star defender for Manchester United this summer.
Man Utd transfer for defender blocked
The Red Devils and INEOS are yet to make a marquee signing after deciding to keep Erik ten Hag as manager, although Ratcliffe has warned fans the club will need two or three summer windows to complete a rebuild of the playing squad.
"I don't think the solution is to buy an Mbappe. We are more grassroots than that. One player is not going to solve the problem at Manchester United. The first thing we need to do is build a balanced squad and ultimately maybe top it off with one or two players like Mbappe. It will take two or three summer windows to get to a better place.”
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One area where the club do want to bolster is at centre-back, with Raphael Varane officially leaving at the end of the month. One name that has been mentioned in recent months is Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo, however, despite talks being at an advanced stage.
Fabrizio Romano recently revealed that a deal is off due to Nice and Man Utd having the same ownership and playing in the same European competition next season.
Ratcliffe hasn’t been left happy at not being able to sign Todibo for the Red Devils, saying: “UEFA said we can sell him to another PL club, but we can't sell to Man Utd. But that's not fair on the player, and I don’t see what that achieves.”
Ratcliffe now ready to take Nice action to sign Todibo
Now, according to a new update from Football Insider, Ratcliffe is ready to sell his stake in Nice in order to sign Todibo for Man Utd. They state that ‘Ratcliffe is now prepared to sell his controlling share in Nice in order to ease the restrictions around multi-club ownership’.
Ratcliffe and INEOS have been in control of Nice since 2019, and it remains to be seen if they will retain a minority stake in the Ligue 1 side, should they sell up.
It looks as if the new Man Utd co-owner is willing to go above and beyond for Todibo, valued at £35m, with the 24-year-old recently saying when asked about a move to Old Trafford: “It's nice to hear all the compliments. I'm trying to stay focused on my game and my team-mates – but for sure I am open to playing in the Premier League. 'I'm going to keep that for me! Nice try.”
The transfer saga for Todibo could drag on for months, especially if Ratcliffe needs to sell his majority stake in France, making this one to watch.