UNITED ASKING PRICE COULD TEMPT DUBAI
Around £3.75billion would be enough to prise Manchester united from the Glazer family, according to well-placed sources. It remains to be seen whether such a figure would be palatable to Britain’s richest man and united supporter Jim ratcliffe, who failed with a recent bid for Chelsea.
It may well, however, be within the range of a sovereign wealth fund such as dubai, which is yet to follow Abu dhabi (Manchester City) and Saudi Arabia (newcastle united) in adding a top-flight club to its portfolio. The Emirate is rumoured be a contender.
● WITH Howard Webb confirmed as chief refereeing officer, the officials’ body PGMOL are still looking to add a chief operating officer and performance director. Announcements are expected in due course. Given this weekend’s VAR mayhem, the new appointees cannot arrive quickly enough.
● LEEDS UNITED are progressing with their quest to redevelop Elland road which would see capacity raised to 55,000 and hand a huge boost to the club’s revenues.
Managing director Angus Kinnear is leading the drive, and expect Peter Lowy — former chief executive of the Westfield Group — to play an influential role when the project gets underway.
The club have 22,000 fans on a waiting list for season tickets and the expansion would include a significant increase in corporate and retail facilities.
no dates have been set but expansion is high on the agenda.
● LIZ TRUSS’S press secretary has been appointed director of communications at the British Horseracing Authority.
Greg Swift, a former assistant editor at the Daily Express, joins the BHA on the same day his current boss is expected to be announced as Prime Minister. BHA officials hope Swift’s extensive government background will be a key asset.
● LAST-MINUTE deals may be the order of the day when it comes to Premier League clubs’ plans for the winter World Cup.
A number of top-flight sides are considering warm-weather training camps for those players not representing their countries in Qatar. The situation, however, is complicated given the clubs do not know how many players will miss out on call-ups. Expect a rush to the travel agents when the final squads are announced.
● Players in the Women’s Super League are set to continue taking the knee before matches.
Each club will continue to decide what they want to do, but insiders have disclosed that most are keen to continue with the anti-racism gesture.
In the Premier League, players have agreed to take the knee at high-profile moments during the season rather than before the start of each game.
● TOP marks to Sky Sports News cameraman Dave Scattergood, who was having none of it when a jumped-up member of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s entourage tried to block his lens as he filmed the Chelsea new boy on a public street in London, arriving to complete a medical ahead of his move from Barcelona. Aubameyang (above) happily spoke to Sky reporter Gary Cotterill but a member of his group repeatedly tried to cover Scattergood’s camera — only to have his arm moved out of the way.
● Usa Gymnastics have just launched a new look, seemingly to help the sport move on from the horrific sexual abuse of multiple young athletes by former team doctor dr Larry nassar.
The federation has re-written its policy for protecting athlete safety and welfare after widespread consultation with the gymnastics community.
Judging by the recent dramatic rise in sexual abuse allegations by athletes against sports officials around the world, the USAG policy could become a blueprint for others when it comes to safeguarding the young and vulnerable.