The underwhelming trio of Antony, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial all face their Manchester United career being cut short in the January transfer window.
The Sun reports that all three players could be “dumped” in the winter market as part of a player recruitment shake-up brought about by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s impending arrival at the club.
It is stated in the newspaper that Ratcliffe is demanding explanations for the eye-watering £1.4bn that has been spent on players since Sir Alex Ferguson called it a day on his managerial career in May 2013. This has led to the Mancunian billionaire deciding to implement a “massive overhaul” of the club’s scouting department and acquisition network. It is normal that the British businessman would want to stamp his authority on the club from the get-go.
The publication goes on to claim that not only players, but higher-ups could be on Ratcliffe’s hitlist. The Sun writer, Ken Lawrence, asserts that CEO Richard Arnold, Football Director John Murtough and director of football operations David Harrison are in jeopardy of being fired and replaced once INEOS rubber stamp their 25% purchase of the club.
Ratcliffe, the life-long fan, is said to be exasperated at the vast sums wasted since the Red Devil’s last Premier League title in 2013. The article highlights the £89m on Paul Pogba, £85.5m on Antony, £75m on Lukaku and the £73m on Sancho as illustrations of such wastage. This return has only led to the meagre total of four major trophies in a decade, two league cups, one FA Cup and one Europa League.
The manager currently in the hotseat, Erik ten Hag, is said to retain the support of INEOS and Ratcliffe and he still “has credit in the bank”. However, the fact that one of the Dutchman’s marquee signings Antony is not only embroiled in legal problems but also performing at a comically low level must be a concern.
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