Man Utd takeover latest - ‘interest’ from Qatar & Lewis Hamilton plus impact on transfer window

Talk of the Manchester United takeover has gone quiet in recent weeks, perhaps unsurprisingly given the endless transfer gossip that surrounds the club and the busy fixture schedule.

The Red Devils could play nine matches in January, while Jack Butland has already arrived on loan and Wout Weghorst is expected to soon join him at Old Trafford. That United have targeted low-cost, short-term options is not surprising given the ongoing uncertainties surrounding the club.

The Glazers have never been particularly keen to put their hands in their pocket, but with a takeover expected before the end of the season, the owners will not invest any funds which they cannot recoup in the subsequent months. While Chelsea are paying an outrageous loan fee for Joao Felix, Liverpool snap up Cody Gakpo and Arsenal chase the highly rated Mykhailo Mudryk, United can only bring in short-term deals for Crystal Palace’s third-choice goalkeeper and a 30-year-old target man.

But the summer is seen as an opportunity for a major overhaul at United, with the likes of Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Alex Telles, Fred, Scott McTominay and Donny van de Beek among the players Erik ten Hag deems expendable. Achieving Champions League football will, of course, be key to this as United will prove a more attractive proposition for incoming signings, hastening potential departures.

The summer transfer policy will also be dependent on who the club’s new owners are and how fervently Ten Hag is backed in the transfer market. With United sitting fourth and enjoying a superb run of form at present, there is hope at boardroom level that they will make an immediate return to the Champions League after a season out of the competition.

But ManchesterWorld has been told the Glazers could hold out on a sale until April or May in an attempt to drive up the sale price, which would increase if United look likely to achieve a top-four finish. It has been widely reported that a new owner could be in place by March, but United’s recent on-field success may scupper that.

Elsewhere, Bloomberg claim Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) could be interested in buying United, Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur, with QSI’s chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi recently meeting Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

A joint offer from Lewis Hamilton and the UK’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe is also a possibility, according to the Mirror. The pair know each other well from Formula One and Ratcliffe, who tried to buy Chelsea last year, has openly registered his interest in buying United, although he did distance himself from a bid in November.