Manchester United accelerate staff redundancy plan

Manchester United are in the process of telling staff whether they are at risk of redundancy or not, with the club’s new ownership looking to cut current staffing levels from over 1,100 by around 250.

Although more than that number are deemed at risk, not all of those affected will lose their jobs.

Erik ten Hag’s squad leave for a three-match tour of the United States on Wednesday.

Those staff expecting to be part of the club’s tour whose job is under threat were told last week they would not be travelling.

However more staff were told about proposed cuts at meetings on Tuesday.

United have refused to comment.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos group is determined to drive down costs at Old Trafford, although there is thought to be disquiet among employees who believe the savings are minimal compared to the £1bn former chief executive Richard Arnold said in 2022 the club had “burned” on underperforming players.

Already this summer, United have spent almost £90m on signing defender Leny Yoro and striker Joshua Zirkzee. They have raised a guaranteed £31.6m through the sales of Mason Greenwood, Willy Kambwala and Donny van de Beek.

United are also trying to bring in another central defender although two bids for Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite have been rejected and talks around Bayern Munich’s Dutch international Matthijs de Ligt have failed to reach a positive conclusion.

The club are also looking to sign a right-back, with Noussair Mazraoui of Bayern Munich among their targets, although that may be linked to the future of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who is about to enter the final year of his contract.

Yoro and Zirkzee are both expected to be in Ten Hag’s squad for the tour of the US, which includes high-profile encounters with Arsenal in Los Angeles on 27 July and Liverpool in Columbia, South Carolina on 3 August.