Man Utd: Ratcliffe’s ‘£30m winter transfer plan’ revealed as Ten Hag ‘blocks’ one deal

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is looking to shave £30m off the wage bill at Man Utd over the January transfer window but Erik ten Hag has already blocked one exit, according to reports.

The Red Devils have been struggling under Ten Hag this season with Man Utd knocked out of the Champions League and the League Cup in the first half of the season, while they are currently drifting in the Premier League.

A 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest in their last Premier League match means Man Utd have dropped down to eighth position in the Premier League table and are now closer to 13th-placed Fulham than fourth-placed Arsenal, who are nine points ahead of them.

And Ten Hag, who is now under massive pressure to get results, needs help in the transfer market with speculation that he wants as many as three signings in January.

But incoming Man Utd investor Ratcliffe is looking to slash their wage bill with Football Insider claiming he has a ‘January plan’ to ‘cut wages’ at Old Trafford ‘by over £30million over the January transfer window’.

The British billionaire is ‘eager to implement stricter cost controls at Old Trafford following his takeover’ after the Red Devils recorded a loss of £42m last season.

READ MORE: Man Utd should ignore panic striker buys and muddle though before The Great Reset

The Premier League giants are ‘expected to offload several players in January to balance their books while other stars have been told to cut their salary if they plan to stay’.

It is understood that Sergio Reguilon’s return to Tottenham and Donny van de Beek’s loan to Eintracht Frankfurt has already saved the club £6m.

But there is one player Ten Hag is keen to keep for the remainder of the season with Tunisian journalist Ahmed Adala claiming the Man Utd boss ‘blocks the departure of Hannibal Mejbri on loan during the winter transfer window’.

Adala adds in his post on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Reason: no options in midfield with injuries to Casemiro and Mason Mount.’

A striker is seen as a priority for Ten Hag in the January transfer window and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims they have discussed a possible move for Bayern Munich’s Eric Choupo-Moting.

Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “Bayern Munich striker Eric Choupo-Moting is one of many names being discussed internally. It’s nothing concrete, nothing advanced yet. Still, Bayern have Harry Kane and Mathys Tel as options up front, so obviously there’s not so much space for Choupo-Moting and Man United have been informed of his situation.

“At the moment it’s not a negotiation, from what I’m told, but it may become one to watch. There has also been some contact with Timo Werner’s agent, but no negotiation with RB Leipzig. In general, a loan signing up front looks like a possibility for United this January.”