Man Utd's plans for £2bn new stadium hit by major blow as Sir Jim Ratcliffe baulks at £400m demand

The Red Devils are hoping to construct a 100,000-seater venue next to their current Old Trafford home that Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to see become ‘Wembley of the North’. In order to deliver the full package, United need to acquire land that is used as a rail freight terminal.

Talks have been held with Freightliner, the company that owns the terminal, but negotiations are said to be "deadlocked due to a disagreement over the price". Freightliner, who are willing to relocate to St Helens, are reportedly asking for £400m ($531m) - with United valuing the land at £40-50m ($66m).

A source has told The Guardian that Freightliner "have United over a barrel". While they are happy to move, they are in no rush to do so. It is claimed that "United’s options at this stage would be to increase their offer, wait for Freightliner to lower its demands, or scale back the project so that the freight terminal land is not required".

United have set the ambitious target of having their new stadium built by 2030, with preparatory work being lined up for the end of this year. The disagreement with Freightliner means that start dates will have to be revised.

The Red Devils believe their entire stadium project will cost £4.2bn ($5.6bn), with the ground itself coming in at £2bn ($2.7bn), with 92,000 jobs set to be created as 1.8m visitors are attracted annually. It is, however, being suggested that the ground will come with a £3bn ($4bn) price tag and that costs could quickly spiral.