Sir Jim Ratcliffe surprised Man United didn’t sign English defender

INEOS are reportedly “surprised” that Manchester United did not make an attempt to sign a top player that Newcastle United signed last summer.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the head of INEOS, has officially finalised his acquisition of a 27.7% share in Man United.

Despite being a minority investor, he has assumed responsibility over football-related operations at Old Trafford as part of the agreement.

Restructuring United’s recruitment approach is one of Ratcliffe’s top goals going into this summer, as has been made evident in recent weeks.

90min claims that INEOS are “surprised” that the old Old Trafford administration “didn’t consider signing Tino Livramento.”

The 21-year-old rose through the ranks at Chelsea before signing a permanently for Southampton in 2021.

In his first season with the Saints in 2022–2022, Livramento made an impression, but a significant knee injury kept him out of much of the team’s 2022–2023 relegation battle.

In spite of this, Newcastle signed Livramento last summer for an initial fee of £32 million.

For the most of this season, Eddie Howe’s versatile full-back has lagged behind Dan Burn in the St. James’ Park pecking order, but when given the chance, the player has excelled.

Livramento may not have been within Man Utd’s financial reach, but INEOS thinks moves for young players with his profile should be seen as investments rather than expenses, thus it would have been worthwhile to pay extra for a young player with exceptional talent.

The young defender’s versatility would have helped United this season with the full-backs showing inconsistency and suffering from injuries this season.