300 Man Utd jobs at risk as Sir Jim Ratcliffe plans cutbacks after completing partial Old Trafford takeover

Ratcliffe will ask an external auditor to assess the club's structure and its expenditure, The Guardianreports. The club's management have been instructed to help ensure they have as much money as possible to spend on transfers by restricting rising costs in other areas.

United have at least 1,000 employees on their payroll and Ratcliffe believes that figure can be cut by between 25 and 30 percent. He is expected to hire a major auditor to inspect the structure at the club, with one of KPMG, Deloitte, Ernst & Young or PwC tipped to be called in.

Ratcliffe's purchase of a 25% stake in United for £1.25 billion ($1.59bn) was confirmed on Christmas Eve. He will provide $300 million (£237m) to renew the infrastructure at Old Trafford. His partial takeover will be ratified by the Premier League after the January transfer window.

The Red Devils may look to invest further in the squad in the January transfer window. First of all, though, Erik ten Hag's team will finish off the year with a Boxing Day match against Aston Villa before facing Nottingham Forest on December 30.