Romano reveals Man Utd have been working on ‘crucial signing’ since September; new ‘push’ for Newcastle man | OneFootball

Sir Jim Ratcliffe attends the Red Devils' match against Tottenham.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Man Utd have been working on their “top” summer target since September.

The Red Devils are yet to bring in any new players over the January transfer window despite reports in December claiming Erik ten Hag was hoping to bring in as many as three new faces.

They have managed to get three first-team players out on loan though with Jadon Sancho joining Borussia Dortmund, Hannibal Mejbri heading to Sevilla and Donny van de Beek arriving at Eintracht Frankfurt.

The imminent arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made the January window a bit trickier for Man Utd with the British billionaire waiting for his 25 per cent stake in the club to be ratified by the Premier League.

Ratcliffe is set to take control of footballing operations when the deal official goes through with the INEOS founder keen on an overhaul of the recruitment department.

Man Utd have been linked with numerous centre-backs as it is seen as a priority for Ten Hag and Ratcliffe but Romano insists a deal will likely be done in the summer.

Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “The next centre-back is going to be a crucial signing in the summer. This is something they are already working with the scouting dept with Erik ten Hag involved since the end of September. They had some internal discussions on a new centre-back and they had this plan to sign a top centre-back in the summer.”

And Romano added that there could even be more than one signing in that position, he added: “It could be two centre-backs. A top one, and maybe a one for present and future. It is going to be a really important decision.”

Ratcliffe has identified Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth as his top target to become the new sporting director at Old Trafford and Romano insists Man Utd will “push again” for the 52-year-old.

Romano continued: “The feeling in the industry, Manchester United will push again, in the next days, or weeks to make it happen.

“Then we have to see the structure they want to build. If they want Dan Ashworth alone, or if they want to bring him another director like Paul Mitchell.

“I think the face they want for this project is Dan Ashworth, the discussion remains ongoing, we have to see what Newcastle will say.”

Manchester United Dan Ashworth