The Glazer family are ready to extend the deadline for a Manchester United takeover until the end of May after interested parties failed to meet their huge £5billion valuation.
Since confirming that they were putting the club on the market back in November, the Glazers have fielded a number of proposals from suitors before last month's soft deadline for bids. But although various parties, including INEOS chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, have lodged concrete offers for the club, nobody has come close to meeting the family's demands.
It was previously outlined that the Glazers hoped to conclude before the end of the first quarter of the year or by the end of April.
However, a fresh report from The Telegraph has detailed that the Glazers are willing to push back their initial deadline until June in a bid to extract a higher price from parties interested in purchasing the club.
While Ratcliffe and Al Thani have gone public with their bids, it is understood that there are at least four different parties who are still interested in acquiring Manchester United from their unpopular American owners.
Despite a difference in valuations, both Ratcliffe and Al Thani are expected at Old Trafford in the coming weeks for further talks after progressing to the next stage of the takeover process. Representatives from Elliott Management, who have also made it to the next phase stage, were in attendance for Thursday night's Europa League victory over Real Betis.
Despite being invited for further talks, the US hedge fund have confirmed they are not interested in purchasing the club outright and are instead offering financial backings to all parties in the process - which has prompted fears from fans and Gary Neville that the Glazers could elect to stay on after all with the backing of Elliott.
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However, the report outlines that the Glazer family are still "determined sellers" - but only at the right price.
Speculation over a potential takeover has dominated the narrative at Old Trafford since the turn of the year, but current boss Erik ten Hag has done his best to keep the focus on football.
"Of course I know [about the bids]," the Dutchman told Sky Sports last month. "There's movement around the club but it's not up to me. Others at the club are taking [charge of] this stuff and I have to manage the team.
"I have to make sure the team is perfect and getting the right results. Every third day, we have a game, so I don't have time to get involved in stuff like this. I t's not distracting us. We are focusing on football, on the games and preparing in training. That is our job to do. It doesn't distract us, so far so good."
