Sir Jim Ratcliffe could be handed his first Manchester United setback by Paul Mitchell

Nobody can accuse Sir Jim Ratcliffe of dawdling in the early stages of his Manchester United era.

The British billionaire only received ratification from the Premier League for his 25 per cent acquisition on Tuesday yet by Wednesday morning he was already on the verge of his second major appointment. After bringing Omar Berrada in as CEO, Ratcliffe is now attempting to bring Dan Ashworth to Old Trafford.

At the moment, the only problem will lie regarding when Ashworth is allowed to join United. The Reds want him, he wants to move but the imposing 'garden leave' period and compensation fee are the only hurdles left.

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In MEN Sport's look at the big talking points, one man could be about to provide Ratcliffe with his first setback.

According to The Athletic, Paul Mitchell has told INEOS that he is wanting to explore other options and would not be interested in coming to United. The former AS Monaco and Tottenham Hotspur recruitment specialist has been heavily linked with the Reds previously but a move to Old Trafford is not on his radar.

What MEN Sport says: Mitchell is well respected in football with his track record speaking volumes. If he was interested in joining the 'dream team' that Ratcliffe appears to be creating then United would have been stronger for it.

However, his rebuttal offers the first glimpse of a setback for INEOS and it will be intriguing to see how they move on from here. Cur rently, the British billionaire has not had to deal with rejection at Old Trafford so a contingency plan will need to be drawn up.

When one door closes, another one opens, as they say. The