Fan zone on roof and 'sound cloud' lid - Wembley architects' previous plans to redesign Man United's Old Trafford

Manchester United have entered a new era this week following the official arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe at the club.

The Ineos owner has acquired 25 per cent of the Class A shares through the tender offer and 25 per cent Class B shares of the Class B shares from the Glazer family and has been tasked with overhauling the football arm of the project at Old Trafford. At the forefront of this mission is the redevelopment of the Theatre of Dreams.

Ratcliffe has already committed to investing $300m in the 'infrastructure' of the stadium. During a sit-down interview with MEN Sport on Wednesday, the 71-year-old outlined how improving the ground was a 'no-brainer'.

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"In an ideal world, I think it's a no-brainer," he said. "In an ideal world, you want a stadium in the north, a stadium of the north, which would be a world-class stadium where England could play and you could have the FA Cup Final and it's not all centred around the south of England.

"So in an ideal world that's where I would be but you've got to be practical about life. You have to think practically because money doesn't grow on trees, obviously. The two most talked-about issues at Manchester United are number one: the football, the performance on the pitch, and the second one is the stadium."

Talk of redeveloping Old Trafford has been on the agenda for more than a decade at this stage and the Reds have employed architects Populous to lead a feasibility study on what can be achieved. Populous' impressive portfolio includes; Wembley Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a number of American football stadiums including Texas' A&M Kyle Field.

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