Sir Jim Ratcliffe cracks the whip at Man Utd! New owner formulates plan to get Red Devils' sky-high wage bill under control

Per the Daily Mirror, Ratcliffe has set new CEO Omar Berrada the challenge of bringing United's wage bill under control. Their most recent annual accounts show that the club are paying £330m ($418m) to their playing squad, but Ratcliffe is keen to impose a limit of £300,000-per-week for any new signings. They broke through that barrier for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba in recent years.

Manchester City pay significantly more to their squad - their wage bill is in excess of £400m ($507m) - but their treble success last season also triggered immense bonuses for several key stars. United plan to implement a similar strategy, although it may take years for the changes to take full effect, as the club are obliged to keep paying their current stars.

United are attempting to restructure their backroom team and have been heavily linked with a move to appoint Dan Ashworth, who has been placed on gardening leave by Newcastle. They are also interested in hiring former Liverpool director of football Julian Ward, as well as Southampton director of football Jason Wilcox.

United are next in action against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup this week, before a huge Premier League clash with bitter rivals City next weekend. Having lost 2-1 at home to Fulham on Saturday, they will be desperate to bounce back.