HAPPENING LIVE: Man united takeover currently ongoing now at Carrington as new owners set to be unveil tomorrow morning
The potential appointments of Jean-Claude Blanc and Paul Mitchell at Manchester United would be ‘one of the best moves’ the Premier League giants have made in many a year, according to French football expert Julien Laurens.
Amid all the disappointment and the disillusion following a dreadful start to the current campaign, the noises coming out of Manchester United ahead of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 25 per cent takeover feel, well, pretty damn positive.
According to BBC Sport, Ratcliffe’s minority stake could be agreed as early as next week. And, while a ‘minority’ investment might not be the clean break from the Glazers that most if not all fans were crying out for, Ratcliffe’s arrival should herald a much-needed transformation of the set-up behind the scenes at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe has almost agreed Manchester United deal
Jean-Claude Blanc could be installed in a high-up role.
Blanc, who many credit with setting Juventus on their way to a period of unprecedented dominance in Italy before playing a major role in PSG’s evolution into the perennial champions of French football, currently works for Ratcliffe’s INEOS as the head of their sporting activities (Get France Football News).
Potential new director of football Paul Mitchell, meanwhile, would arrive with a stellar reputation in the transfer market, making him a major upgrade on the likes of Ed Woodward and John Murtough.
Mitchell, during spells at Southampton and Tottenham, drove the inspired signings of Sadio Mane, Dele Alli, Heung-Min Son and more.
Blanc and Mitchell in at Old Trafford?
And Laurens, a French football reporter who has seen Ratcliffe’s Nice side rise to the top of Ligue 1 this season following a successful restructuring in recent months, is confident that the appointments of Blanc and Mitchell could lay the foundations for brighter days at United.
“If Sir Jim Ratcliffe brings Jean-Claude Blanc and Paul Mitchell with him at Manchester United, it would be one of the best moves the club has done for a long time!” Laurens writes on X.
“By far!”
According to the BBC, Ratcliffe is also likely to hand close ally Sir Dave Brailsford a key role the United rebuild too.
