Manchester United look set to miss out on the signing of Crystal Palace ace Michael Olise after it emerged the winger has already chosen to join Bayern Munich instead. And the INEOS project at Old Trafford could be crumbling before it has even had a chance to get going, with the Red Devils yet to make any transfers this summer.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS completed a deal to buy a minority stake in United earlier this year, with the club going on to win the FA Cup final in May following victory over Manchester City.
Ratcliffe then made a decision to keep Erik ten Hag in his role as manager after deliberating for two weeks over a potential change at the top.
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Ratcliffe and Ten Hag will be desperate to make improvements to the United squad after the team finished eighth in the Premier League last season.
And in May, it was reported that the north west giants had become the frontrunners to sign Olise, who bagged 10 goals and six assists in 19 Premier League appearances during the last campaign.
Olise excelled during an audition in front of Ratcliffe last month as he bagged a brace in Crystal Palace’s 4-0 thumping of the Red Devils at Selhurst Park.
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But Ratcliffe’s refusal to make a decision about Ten Hag’s future quickly may have cost his club the opportunity to get the upper hand in the transfer battle for Olise’s signature. And, according to The Athletic, the 22-year-old is now expected to agree a deal to join Bayern.
Ratcliffe has recently been butting heads with UEFA after the governing body reportedly blocked the transfer of a Nice player to United due to the fact Ratcliffe owns the French club.
And in an interview with Bloomberg, the businessman explained: “There's room for improvement everywhere we look at Manchester United, and we will improve everything.
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“We're sort of a bit handicapped in that sense, so I think we'll do a fairly good job. It will take two or three summer windows to get to a better place.”
United have already been linked with a whole host of players this summer, including the likes of Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee, Lille defender Leny Yoro and Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite.
But they will need to make progress quickly if they want to enjoy an upturn in fortunes next season as Ten Hag’s side were way off the pace in the Premier League and Champions League last season.
And if Ratcliffe can’t find a way to get transfers over the line while improving the set-up at Old Trafford at same time, the Red Devils may fall even further behind the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool when the new campaign gets underway in August.
