Sir Jim Ratcliffe 'wants Luton player' to replace Casemiro in Man Utd midfield
Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to sign Luton star Ross Barkley as part of a dramatic Manchester United rebuild.
The INEOS owner is now officially leading the Red Devils’ footballing department after his 25% purchase of the club was ratified by the Premier League. He has already laid out his intentions to get United challenging in the upper echelons of the division once more.
As part of that, Ratcliffe is aiming to invest in the playing squad with Barkley among his targets, according to The Sun. The Red Devils are keen to bolster their midfield ahead of next season.
Brazilian Casemiro has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford, while on-loan Sofyan Amrabat is not expected to be retained on a permanent basis. Barkley’s form for Luton this season has seen him emerge as a potential bargain if the pair leave.
After joining on a free transfer from Nice, he has scored three goals and notched as many assists. It has been suggested that he could potentially leave Luton for a low fee should the Hatters suffer relegation from the Premier League at the end of the season.
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Should Ratcliffe seal a deal for Barkley, it would be the second time that he has signed the midfielder. He also took him to Nice after his Chelsea exit.
Speaking at the time, Barkley revealed that Ratcliffe was a huge influence behind his move to France. “Nice is an ambitious club,” Barkley said.
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“Nice are a big club with a big history, that has won titles, that has qualified for European football numerous times in the past seasons, and that was a finalist in last year’s Coupe de France.
“There is also a super, passionate fanbase. I am very excited to play here. They presented me with a project over multiple years. It is a club that wants to go far, that wants to be a big club at a European level.
“I managed to speak with Dave Brailsford, who showed me the growth project at the club. Jim Ratcliffe also convinced me to come here to help the team progress.”
Barkley’s move to Nice did not quite go as planned. He made 28 appearances in his solitary campaign with the French outfit - only ten of those being starts - scoring just four times and assisting twice.
Writing in his book Grit, Rigour & Humour: The Ineos Story, Ratcliffe revealed that he appealed to then boss Lucien Favre to give Barkley more opportunities. He wrote: “I saw him at Chelsea and he’s a really good footballer.
“If his mind’s in the right place and he’s in really good shape, you could play him twice a week because he’s built like a tank, really strong. You have to give a guy a chance to settle. And he gets one game every three or four. It’s ridiculous.”
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