Sir Jim Ratcliffe reveals the one signing Man Utd need to make most | Football

The Ineos founder’s £1.3billion minority takeover of the club has seen him, along with Sir Dave Brailsford, assume control of football operations at Old Trafford.

Overhauling the behind-the-scenes structure at the club has been their first priority, with Omar Berrada poached from rivals Manchester City to become the new chief executive.

More appointments are expected to follow ahead of the summer transfer window, with Dan Ashworth to be named as United’s first-ever sporting director once a compensation package has been agreed with Newcastle while a new head of recruitment will be brought in to work under him.

Although Ratcliffe feels implementing that structure is more important than simply going out in the transfer market and splashing cash, he does acknowledge that there are areas of the squad that need attention.

Chief among them, in the eyes of the new co-owner at least, is central midfield, where he feels they are well-stocked with more destructive options but are missing a playmaking passer to dictate and control matches.

‘He was irreplaceable for a while and even today you can see that is quite a challenging position for United.’

United spent big in recent years to bring in experienced Real Madrid duo Raphael Varane and Casemiro at centre-back and central midfield respectively, though both players have been linked with moves to Saudi Arabia.

The Red Devils’ spending power could be heavily influenced by whether or not they manage to secure Champions League football next season, with the side currently six points adrift of fifth-placed Tottenham – with that spot likely to nab a bonus place in the competition thanks to the Premier League’s coefficient score.

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