Ratcliffe considers shock swoop for ex-Liverpool man, with Newcastle raid too difficult for Man Utd

A key ex-Liverpool man who shocked the Reds could spring another surprise by joining Manchester United, with a report claiming Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ideal raid on Newcastle will be ‘extremely difficult’ to achieve.

INEOS’ partial takeover of Manchester United was officially announced on Christmas Eve. Sir Jim Ratcliffe will purchase a 25 percent stake in the club worth £1.27bn. £1.03bn of that figure is for the buying of the shares, while the remaining £237m will go towards revamping United’s ailing infrastructure.

The deal is subject to Premier League approval which could take up to eight weeks to arrive. As such, and despite the fact Ratcliffe will assume full sporting control at United, his investment won’t have an effect on the upcoming January transfer window.

Instead, according to the Telegraph, Man Utd are expected to hit the next summer window ‘hard’.

At that point, the club may well have a new sporting director in place, with the report claiming incumbent John Murtough is ‘highly unlikely’ to continue in his current role.

Murtough is keen to remain at Old Trafford and per the Manchester Evening News, has impressed on INEOS’ early fact-finding missions.

However, the Telegraph state ‘the level of chronic under-performance he has overseen’ will prove fatal and Murtough isn’t expected to be retained as the sporting director.

The MEN claimed on December 18 that Newcastle chief, Dan Ashworth, is INEOS’ ‘prime’ choice to succeed Murtough.

The latest update from the Telegraph echoes that claim, though suggest it’ll be ‘extremely difficult to extricate him from his contract even if Ashworth is interested’.

With hope of snaring Ashworth fading, the report names former Liverpool chief, Julian Ward, as someone who is now coming under consideration.

Ward could sting Liverpool a second time

Ward was on Liverpool’s books for 11 years and earned a promotion to the sporting director role upon succeeding the heralded Michael Edwards in the summer of 2022.

However, Ward stunned the Reds just a few months later when announcing his decision to step down at the end of the 2022/23 season. Ward was ultimately replaced at Anfield by Jorg Schmadtke.

Ward could reportedly shock Liverpool a second time by joining Man Utd as their new sporting director. Per the report, he has been discussed at the highest levels in INEOS.

Ward was responsible for the high profile signings of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez during his brief stint in the Liverpool hotseat.

A word of warning is sounded in the piece, however, with it noted the 42-year-old is not understood to be in a rush to return to football.

Furthermore, whether he’d readily join Man Utd after spending 11 years with Liverpool remains to be seen.

If Ward does elude Man Utd, the Telegraph list six others who have been mulled over by Man Utd’s incoming part-owners.

Crystal Palace’s Dougie Freedman, ex-Spurs recruitment chief Paul Mitchell, Atalanta’s Lee Congerton, former AC Milan duo Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara, and Andrea Berti of Atletico Madrid are all named.

Newcastle’s Ashworth remains the No 1 prize, though difficulty in pulling off the raid could lead to an alternative – such as Ward – getting the nod.

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