Manchester United are in the midst of a takeover process that still remains 'unclear' at Old Trafford with no end in sight, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.
What's the latest on the Manchester United takeover process?
As per The Daily Mail, Manchester United bidders are now fearful over whether the Glazer family will commit to selling the club despite the Red Devils being up for sale since last November.
The report states that there is no way that any new owner will be in place for their first match of the Premier League campaign at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 14th, as the 'necessary checks' needed to ratify a change of hands at ownership level officially would still drag the process beyond the timeline of being completed by the middle of next month.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his petrochemicals firm INEOS want to buy a majority controlling stake that may allow two of the Glazer brothers to stay on in minority stakeholder roles while Sheikh Jassim and the Nine Two Foundation, Ratcliffe's rival bidder, want to buy the club outright with no external involvement, as per Sky Sports.
Taking to Twitter, journalist Jacobs, who will give a little more information regarding the takeover situation later on, has confirmed that despite 'frustration' from both parties, there are no plans for either Ratcliffe or Sheikh Jassim to pull out of the running to take control of Manchester United.
Speaking to Football FanCast, Jacobs also took the time to give some further insight into the landscape that both bidders find themselves in at present and reiterated that nobody has pulled the plug on their efforts to gain control at Old Trafford.
Jacobs told FFC: "So this is now less about specific timescales and more about the group's understanding what the Glazers' true intentions are. There's no indication that either group at this stage is going to pull out and that will remain the case unless perhaps one of them feels like they are a stalking horse in all of this. In other words, they don't stand a realistic chance of winning and that's the first clue in a takeover of this magnitude. We saw this with Chelsea, too; when a group feels that they've lost, they tend to be one of the first to come forward and speak about the situation, so we actually might learn more information via the Manchester United sale process from a group who either feels they're out the race or is out the race or pulls out the race. At this stage, both Ratcliffe and Jassim remain in the process and that's why the situation is unclear."
What next for Manchester United?
Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag won't be too phased by things that are above his head at Old Trafford and will instead focus his energy on trying to build a squad worthy of competing on all fronts this term.
Mason Mount and Andre Onana have already entered the building from Chelsea and Inter Milan, respectively, representing two major pieces of business for Manchester United as they look to continue on their upward trajectory on the field, as per Transfermarkt.
Renowned transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has also given an update regarding Manchester United's pursuit of Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund, stating on Twitter: "Man United plan remains the same. Bid for Rasmus Højlund soon to avoid PSG hijack, as revealed yesterday. PSG are speaking to player’s camp — Man United agreed terms with Højlund and speaking to Atalanta."
Lastly, Jonny Evans has re-joined the Red Devils on a short-term contract in pre-season and there is a chance that he could extend his stay at the club on a permanent deal, according to ESPN.