Man Utd astounded, with key Ratcliffe target ‘in pole position’ to join surprise European suitor

Sir Jim Ratcliffe could soon be handed the first major setback of his Manchester United spell, as one of his crucial targets is reportedly close to heading to Italy instead.

Ratcliffe fought off Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim to purchase a 25 per cent stake in Man Utd from the Glazer family. He, along with his team from INEOS, wants to completely overhaul the way Man Utd run their football operations, while also making the club more attractive on the global market.

As Ratcliffe is a Man Utd fan, he appears intent on bringing the glory days back to Old Trafford. And this could see the British billionaire spend huge money from this summer onwards to get them challenging the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal for Premier League titles.

Recent reports have suggested Ratcliffe wants to improve Erik ten Hag’s options at centre-forward, No 8, centre-half and right-back. Some of his top targets include Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, Jean-Clair Todibo of Nice and Stuttgart ace Serhou Guirassy.

Ratcliffe is also aiming to bring in a new director of football, as well as a new head of recruitment, in order to ensure that Man Utd are making the right moves in the transfer market for the long run.

On December 8, it was revealed that the 71-year-old is plotting a daring raid on Newcastle United to make Dan Ashworth his new director of football. And his prime target for the head of recruitment position is Paul Mitchell, who has previously worked at Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton, RB Leipzig and Monaco.

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But Ratcliffe may soon have to admit defeat in his hunt to land Mitchell. According to Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, the 42-year-old transfer expert could head to Italy next as part of a new adventure.

He is ‘in pole position’ to become the new general manager of football at Roma. The Italian side announced their decision to part ways with Tiago Pinto on January 4, though he will remain in his position until February 3.

In the mean time, Roma have been ‘in contact’ with several candidates, including Mitchell, former Chelsea technical director Christopher Vivell and ex-AC Milan director Ricky Massara. But out of those three options, Mitchell is the most likely to be appointed.

Mitchell’s decision to snub Man Utd for Roma is a surprising one, given the stature of the two clubs involved. Although, the former MK Dons midfielder may be fed up with waiting for Ratcliffe to firm up his interest, and has resultantly decided to get on with his career by moving elsewhere.

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