Sir Jim Ratcliffe is of the opinion that Manchester United lack a creative, passing midfielder akin to the caliber of Paul Scholes. Additionally, he identifies central defense as an area requiring attention on the pitch.
Following his £1.3 billion minority takeover of the club, the Ineos founder, alongside Sir Dave Brailsford, has assumed control of football operations at Old Trafford.
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Their initial focus has been on revamping the club’s behind-the-scenes framework. This effort saw the recruitment of Omar Berrada from rivals Manchester City to serve as the new chief executive.
Further restructuring is anticipated in advance of the summer transfer window. Dan Ashworth is poised to become United’s inaugural sporting director, pending finalization of a compensation agreement with Newcastle. Concurrently, a new head of recruitment will join to collaborate under his purview.
While Ratcliffe emphasizes the importance of establishing this structural foundation over lavish spending in the transfer market, he acknowledges the imperative of addressing certain squad deficiencies.
Primarily, Ratcliffe perceives a gap in central midfield, where he believes United possess robust defensive options but lack a playmaking presence capable of orchestrating and dominating matches.
Asked to name one former Man United great to put in the current team, Ratcliffe told Geraint Thomas on his Cycling Club podcast: ‘Paul Scholes I’d bring in. That’s the player that is most missing.
‘They are not Roy Keane but they have Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo, they are more defensive. They don’t have a Scholes, an [Andres] Iniesta.’
Apart from the necessity for a fresh, innovative central midfielder, Ratcliffe also senses a void in United’s defensive line.
Ratcliffe added: ‘Jaap Stam was a fabulous footballer and United missed him for years.
‘He was irreplaceable for a while and even today you can see that is quite a challenging position for United.’
United made significant investments in recent times to acquire seasoned Real Madrid pair Raphael Varane and Casemiro for the positions of center-back and central midfield, respectively. However, rumors have surfaced linking both players to moves to Saudi Arabia.
The financial capabilities of the Red Devils could be significantly impacted by their ability to secure Champions League qualification for the following season.
Presently, they trail sixth-placed Tottenham by six points, with that position potentially earning an additional spot in the competition due to the Premier League’s coefficient score.
