Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Getafe left them just two points above the bottom three in a congested bottom half of the table and the club have acted in removing the former Argentina and Marseille manager.

“Sevilla FC have today relieved Jorge Sampaoli of his duties,” a statement on their club website read.

Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani would now be “willing to overpay” for Manchester United with a figure closer to the Glazers’ £6bn price tag when he makes a second bid for the club on Wednesday say Sky Sports.

It was previously expected that the Qatari bidders were determined not to pay over the odds for the club, a stance echoed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the visit to Old Trafford by a delegation representing Sheikh Jassim has changed things.

Following long, constructive meetings and consultations with his bankers and advisers in Qatar last Friday Sheikh Jassim is said to be putting together what he believes will be a compelling offer for the club.

A Qatari state takeover of Manchester United would be nothing short of an English football travesty.

This is a moment of enormity for the sport. The concern is two-fold, both having a multiplying effect on the other to pose a potentially irreversible impact on the game. At its moral core, there is English football’s biggest club being made to represent the biggest problem in football right now. United would be politically used to mitigate one of the most criticised human rights records on earth, centred on a labour system described as modern slavery, consequently making this noble institution complicit.

United would no longer just be about Salford, Manchester and a community of fans thrilled by a glorious history of adventure and defiance. It would be about Qatar, its foreign policy and the kind of issues that just shouldn’t be a concern for football. “Sportswashing” is too soft a description for what is actually happening here, especially when you consider the other issue.

The purchase of United by a state bid would mean the three primary countries driving the Gulf blockade all finally own major clubs in England, including the biggest of all. What would it say for what the Premier League is? The most watched league in the world would become the most morally compromised, by far greater degrees. The competition would be turned into a political arena. Manchester would be turned into a political arena. Nobody should be under any illusions about that.

According to a report by Foot Mercato, Manchester United have ‘held talks’ with representatives for AS Monaco defender Axel Disasi about the prospect of a summer move to Old Trafford.

It is claimed that the 25-year-old is attracting interest from several clubs but United are keen on the move and met his reps two weeks ago.

Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are among the European heavyweights who are said to hold an interest in Disasi.

Defending FA Cup champions Chelsea face a trip to Aston Villa in the semi-finals of the Women’s FA Cup whilst Manchester United host Brighton in the other tie, with both teams in the last four for the first time.

The semi-finals will take place on Sunday, 16th April, with the final at Wembley on Sunday, 14th May.

2022/23 Women’s FA Cup semi-final draw

Manchester United vs Brighton

Aston Villa vs Chelsea

Ramsey joined Nice on a free transfer last summer and has helped them into the top seven of Ligue 1 and the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League after a difficult start to the season.

“It’s been quite nice, really enjoyable. there’s worse places in the world to be playing,” new Wales captain Ramsey said at a press conference before opening Euro 2024 qualifiers against Croatia and Latvia.

“The owner is very passionate and very invested into Nice.”

A survey of 1002 Premier League away match-attending fans, condecuted by Midnite, has discovered which stadiums have the best atmospheres.

According to the results, Old Trafford is the highest voted for best home support in the Premier League, agreed by 20.46% of the fans.

With a capacity of 74,000, Erik ten Hag has changed the atmosphere in and around Manchester United with his impressive results making Old Trafford the fortress it once was again.

39% of Newcastle United fans voted the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ as their favourite away day atmosphere when they travel down from the Northern border.

Anfield takes second place with 17.64% of the vote.

Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay is reportedly a summer transfer target for Newcastle, according to The Telegraph.

The 26-year-old Scotland international has had limited opportunities at Old Trafford this season, thanks to the arrivals of Casemiro and Marcel Sabitzer, and is believed to be open to the move.

The Times say are also reporting that Tottenham want at least £100million up front if striker Harry Kane goes on the market this summer.

The 29-year-old England captain has a year left on his contract and Manchester United are seemingly interested in bringing in the striker.

Ratcliffe, a lifelong United fan whose chemical company Ineos are among the potential purchasers, was at their Carrington training complex on Friday as talks continue to buy out the Glazer family’s 69 percent share in the club.

“I just met him and shook hands but I am focused on the game,” said Ten Hag, before his team faced Fulham in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday. “Others in the club are dealing with potential investors.”

Ratfcliffe grew up on a council estate in Manchester and supported the Old Trafford club as a child.

Up until the past few years Ratcliffe had kept a low profile for a billionaire. He had a relatively modest upbringing in Lancashire and then Yorkshire during the 1950s and 60s before studying at the University of Birmingham and London Business School, and made his fortune recovering struggling companies in the oil and gas sector.

Politically, he is a passionate Brexiteer as well as a strong advocate for fracking, with Ineos poised to be one of the leaders should the UK’s shale gas industry take off. He has courted controversy after not only moving himself to a tax haven in Monaco but also his company’s headquarters, shifting Ineos to a new base in Switzerland in 2010 before it returned to London five years later.

Ineos is the fourth largest chemical company in the world, reporting a profit of £474m in 2021.