Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already taken the first step towards his Manchester United objective

Photographs published on Friday showed Erik ten Hag and Sir Jim Ratcliffe sharing broad smiles during a meeting at Manchester United headquarters two days earlier.

Such beaming expressions between the Glazers and previous Reds managers were rarely seen but there is a whole new reaction to the new co-owner shaking hands with the current coach. Ratcliffe is a billionaire from Oldham who spends half of his time in Monaco and Ten Hag, a pragmatic Dutchman solely plying his trade in Manchester, both united by United. The pair have already established they are both singing from the same hymn sheet, according to the first-team boss.

"Very positive, I have to say," Ten Hag said when asked how his first chat with Ratcliffe went. “We had a long meeting, so many hours we sit together.

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"On many issues we were on the same page, very positive from both sides. I can say that it was a very constructive meeting and we're looking forward to working with each other."

Ratcliffe was joined by right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford, who has watched United’s last two games in person. He knows a thing or two about exerting maximum efficiency from athletes having been head of British Cycling between 1997 and 2014.

He is now a Director of Sport at Ineos and joined Ratcliffe at Ligue 1 outfit OGC Nice. He conducted an audit of the club in the summer of 2022 and is expected to do the same at United, after which several heads may roll.

Richard Arnold has already left his post as CEO and United are planning to replace football director John Murtough. The new regime are targeting Newcastle United lead Dan Ashworth, formerly of the FA and Brighton & Hove