Sir Jim Ratcliffe visits Man Utd for 'face-to-face Erik ten Hag talks' amid sack fears

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has officially started work at Manchester United after agreeing a £1.3billion deal for a 25 per cent stake in the club. The INEOS founder is awaiting Premier League ratification to directly influence sporting matters but he has started to make his presence felt in Manchester.

The Glazer family have transferred total control of football operations to Ratcliffe as part of the minority investment announced by the club on Christmas Eve.

INEOS wasted no time making it clear that their rule over United's sporting structure would be far more visible and public than the Glazers' unpopular 19-year reign.

Sir Dave Brailsford was in attendance at Old Trafford on Boxing Day when Erik ten Hag's side completed a sensational comeback to defeat Aston Villa 3-2.

The INEOS chief was then spotted sitting alongside Sir Alex Ferguson at the City Ground as United slumped to a woeful 2-1 defeat against Nottingham Forest to end 2023.

And now Ratcliffe has returned to Manchester, his birthplace, to set the wheels of his passion project in motion at the club's stadium and training complex.

According to the Mail, Ratcliffe is in M16 for the next few days as he prepares for the Premier League to give his investment in his boyhood club the green light.

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The report claims the 71-year-old has visited Old Trafford for meetings today before planned talks with Ten Hag, his coaching staff and his players at Carrington this week.

Last week, Ten Hag admitted that he hadn't had a chance to speak to Ratcliffe since his investment was confirmed when asked ahead of the trip to Forest.

He said: "The schedule is so condensed I didn't have the time so far to speak with them, but it will come.

"I look forward [to talking]. They want to work with me, I want to work with them, we will have the conversations, the meetings. We will see."