It’s not the full takeover that Manchester United fans were hoping for, but the end of this Old Trafford saga is nearing at long last.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS are closing in on a 25% stake in the club after Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani backed away from the bidding process. The plan for Ratcliffe is to eventually take full control of United.

The 70-year-old will bring with him a wealth of experience and contacts in top-level sport, and he’s already dipped his toes into the footballing world as the owner of French side OGC Nice.

Les Aiglons are going quite well in Ligue 1 this season, sitting second after going unbeaten in their opening eight games and instilling a disciple of Roberto De Zerbi – Francesco Farioli – as their manager.

If and when Ratcliffe makes his way into United, who are the players that he could look to take from Nice? 90min takes a look.

Jean-Clair Todibo

Todibo has forced his way into the France setup / Koji Watanabe/GettyImages

• Position: Centre-back
• Age: 23
• Fun fact: Recipient of the fastest red card in Ligue 1 history (nine seconds)

Let’s start with a player that United have an active interest in – France international Jean-Clair Todibo.

Those of you with an above-average memory and knowledge of European football might remember his short-lived spell as Barcelona’s next hope. Between 2019 and 2021, he made five appearances for La Blaugrana and was loaned out three times before signing for Nice on a permanent deal.

Todibo formed quite a partnership with Arsenal loanee William Saliba upon his arrival at the Allianz Riviera and has since blossomed into one of his country’s more authoritative centre-backs.

90min reported in August that Todibo was being monitored by United in case they managed to shift Harry Maguire, but he ended up staying at Old Trafford.

Khephren Thuram

• Position: Central midfielder
• Age: 22
• Fun fact: Named after an Egyptian Pharaoh

Son of Lillian and younger brother of Marcus, midfielder Khephren Thuram is making his own waves in football.

A gangly yet aesthetically pleasing and unique box-to-box midfielder, Thuram has already caught the eye of some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

United are actually pretty well-stacked in the midfield department right now, but if they ever needed another gigantic midfielder, they know where to find one.

Marcin Bulka

• Position: Goalkeeper
• Age: 24
• Fun fact: Ligue 1 winner, technically

Right, this is a little bit of projection on our part, but there’s still method in the madness.

Marcin Bulka’s tally of eight appearances for Nice this term is one away from matching his record for games in a season, so he’s still fairly inexperienced.

That said, the Polish goalkeeper has proven to be one of the best shot-stoppers in Ligue 1 so far, keeping five clean sheets and notably saving two penalties from Folarin Balogun in a milestone win at rivals Monaco.

Having spent three years in Chelsea’s youth ranks, he would count as a homegrown option for English teams. Football Manager players, get your squad-planning tools ready.

Terem Moffi

• Position: Striker
• Age: 24
• Fun fact: Played at the Buckswood Football Academy in Hastings as a teenager

The path to stardom has been an unorthodox one for Nigeria’s Terem Moffi.

After leaving his home country at the age of 17 but failing to make it in England, he managed to kick-start his career playing in Lithuania. A move to Belgium with Kortrijk followed, and for the last three years, he’s been tearing up France with Lorient and Nice.

90min reported back in January that Premier League clubs were keeping tabs on Moffi prior to his move to the Mediterranean coast

If United want a suitably physical deputy to Rasmus Hojlund, Moffi could be their man, as best evidenced by his manhandling of Paris Saint-Germain above.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe expects a hands-on role at Manchester United once a deal to purchase a 25% stake in the club from the Glazer family is complete, 90min understands.

The INEOS founder is set to come on board at Old Trafford alongside the Glazer family, who will retain majority ownership in the short to medium term – a deal in principle is expected to be confirmed this week – after rival bidder Sheikh Jassim withdrew from the process.

The Qatari banker had submitted a £5bn offer, with a willingness to invest a further £1bn to clear debts. But his group’s proposal fell short of the Glazer valuation of United, which is in excess of £6bn and potentially even up to £10bn. Ratcliffe’s offer, although only for 25%, actually valued the club higher. The Glazer family have also been wary about selling under value.

Despite starting small, Ratcliffe’s eventual plan is to become long-term majority owner and 90min understands that aspect has been key to the talks behind taking his initial stake.

The 70-year-old billionaire already has multiple sporting involvements through INEOS, the multinational chemicals company he set up in 1998, and intends to play an active role at United.

The breadth of his involvement will be large, including Old Trafford improvements, as well as commercial interests and football operations. With regard to the latter, 90min understands there is a belief that expanding and enhancing the club’s current football department is essential.

A major part of that will see Ratcliffe lean on the broader sporting expertise he is already familiar with – that includes Sir Dave Brailsford, who was recently appointed INEOS director of sport and was already team principal of the firm’s hugely successful cycling team. INEOS also owns one third of the Mercedes Formula One team that has won eight of ten F1 constructors and drivers titles from 2014.

Noted sporting director Paul Mitchell is also someone Ratcliffe, who is based in Monaco, is very familiar with as a result of his time at principality club and is considering bringing in. United have long been linked with Mitchell, who initially built his reputation as an outstanding talent scout at Southampton a decade ago. He joined Monaco in 2020 after spells at Tottenham and RB Leipzig.

90min reported in June that Mitchell, surprisingly still only 42 given the body of his work, was interested in returning to the Premier League – something he admitted himself the following month: “You can never say never. I am from England and one day – I am still relatively a young man – I will go back to the Premier League and to friends and family back there as well.”