Man Utd takeover: Sheikh Jassim ‘threatens to walk away’ as Ten Hag waits ‘at least a month’ to make striker bid
Man Utd bidder Sheikh Jassim reportedly ‘threatened to walk away’ from a deal to buy the Premier League club over the long process to complete a takeover.
The Sheikh and his Nine Two Foundation, which is seeking to buy 100 per cent of the club, made their fifth and final bid to United’s owners, the Glazer family, earlier this month and will no longer negotiate with them.
Some observers have interpreted the submission of two additional bids from Sheikh Jassim as an indication that the rival offer from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos is preferred by the Glazers.
However, sources close to the Qatari say he is simply keen to bring the matter to a swift conclusion with a crucial summer transfer window for Man Utd coming up.
The fifth and final bid was issued earlier this month, and Sheikh Jassim considers it an enormous premium on the current share price of the club, both now and at any stage of the club’s recent share price.
Ratcliffe is understood to have made an improved offer on April 28. It has been reported that his offer enables Avram and Joel Glazer to retain a 20 per cent stake in the club, something the Ineos camp has not confirmed.
Man Utd supporters have been growing increasingly concerned that the failure to push through a takeover could impact on their summer transfer business and the Financial Times claims that this ‘frustration at the protracted process is not confined to fans’.
Sheikh Jassim ‘threatened to walk away’ earlier this month with the ‘time it is taking to decide the club’s future has further inflamed a fan base that has long chafed under the Glazers’ grip’.
A centre-forward is absolutely essential to Erik ten Hag’s transfer plans this summer and Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy’s refusal to sell them Harry Kane has left the Red Devils scrambling around for a new striker.
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is seen as the expensive option this summer but more of a sure bet compared to Eintract Frankfurt’s Randall Kolo Muani and Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund.
And now Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport have an update on United’s interest in Osimhen with the newspaper maintaining Napoli’s asking price is €150m
Man Utd and other clubs ‘are waiting for the right moment for an offer’ and the Red Devils have been told it could take ‘at least a month’ before knowing his situation.
