Man Utd ‘increasingly likely’ to succeed with brutal Newcastle raid, as Ratcliffe prepares statement first move

Newcastle will be the first port of call for Sir Jim Ratcliffe once his partial takeover of Manchester United goes through, and a report claims a ruthless raid is ‘increasingly likely’ to succeed.

The British billionaire, 71, is primed to purchase a 25 percent stake in the Red Devils. The partial takeover has been tipped to cross the line this side of Christmas. However, even once finalised, ratification from the Premier League could take up to two months to come.

As such, a fresh report from the Daily Mail has shed light on Ratcliffe’s plans, with his first major move involving Newcastle unlikely to come before the winter window has closed its doors.

A prior Mail report claimed United director of football, John Murtough, is determined to cling on to power at Old Trafford.

Murtough has made himself extra visible at Carrington of late and recently flew to Saudi Arabia to sound out interest in the likes of Raphael Varane, Casemiro and Jadon Sancho.

However, the Manchester Evening News revealed Ratcliffe and INEOS chief Sir Dave Brailsford are high on the idea of replacing Murtough with Newcastle’s sporting director, Dan Ashworth.

The 52-year-old has earned rave reviews for the work he conducted at West Brom, Brighton and the FA.

Ashworth joined Newcastle in 2022 and quickly oversaw a series of successful transfers in the market. Nick Pope, Sven Botman and Alexander Isak all arrived in Ashworth’s first window at the helm.

Murtough could be moved into an administrative role if Ashworth is successfully lured to Old Trafford. Regardless, the MEN made it crystal clear that Ashworth is INEOS’ primary target to oversee football operations at Man Utd.

Per the update from the Mail, United’s potential raid on Newcastle for Ashworth is ‘increasingly likely’ to succeed.

Hojlund failure hampering Murtough reputation?

Murtough is likely to remain in situ to oversee the January window. Though he himself recently admitted he expects a quiet month anyway.

Once Ratcliffe is in place and the Premier League have ratified his partial takeover, a move for Ashworth will be launched.

Working against Murtough’s chances of earning a shock reprieve is the fact he was the main backer behind United’s move for Rasmus Hojlund.

Murtough convinced United to go ‘young and hungry’ for a striker and United ultimately parted with £72m (including future add-ons) to sign Hojlund.

But while the Dane did score five goals in United’s ill-fated Champions League campaign, he’s yet to open his account in the Premier League despite the season being over four months old.

By contrast, the other major name United targeted – Harry Kane – has plundered 20 goals in just 14 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern Munich so far.

DON’T MISS: Shock Man Utd move firms up after offer for Tottenham star confirmed by third source