To build a top-notch football stadium in Manchester, a task team comprising former player Sebastian Coe, mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham, and new Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was established.
Old Trafford is set to be demolished, and Coe is in charge of the recently established task group, whose objective is to revitalise the neighbourhood around the stadium (talkSPORT).
Richard Keys has since issued a warning to Manchester United not to engage with the 67-year-old.
Old Trafford to be knocked down
If Manchester United is to build a new stadium, Richard Keys has advised them to stay far away from Sebastien Coe:
“The only thing I’d add Andy, is that I’m not sure Seb Coe should be anywhere near the project. I like Coe as well, but the last project he was involved in led to the London Stadium being built – a hybrid athletics/football stadium that’s never been fit for purpose.”
As far as being a football stadium goes, Keys is undoubtedly correct. The London Stadium is unfit for its intended use.
The main point of disagreement between the London Stadium and the Hammers supporters is the distance between the stands and the pitch. The only way to address that would be to reclaim possession of the old Olympic Stadium and turn it into a functional football pitch.
It was blatantly obvious that there had been little planning when the stadium for the 2012 Games was constructed that it might be later modified for football. Recall that Coe presided over the organising committee for the London 2012 Olympics.
The announcement that Old Trafford would be demolished and that the Manchester United administration would instead be constructing a brand-new stadium is definitely a significant departure from the initial idea to only renovate the existing venue.
But given Keys’ background with West Ham United’s London Stadium, Ratcliffe and company may now be certain that they should be searching elsewhere for assistance than Sebastian Coe.
In a related development:
West Ham need to act fast as director finds ‘contractual agreement’ with target – Hammers held talks before January
Before the January transfer window opened, there were a few rumours that Ardon Jashari was heading to West Ham United.
Although it was mentioned that the young defensive midfield player was in talks to perhaps join the Hammers, it was made quite plain that there would be no deal in January.
Yes, that is the fact, and Calciomercato is what we see now.It indicates that there will be fierce rivalry for West Ham to sign the Swiss talent in Italy.
It has been reported that Giovanni Sartori, the technical director of Bologna, has “found a contractual agreement” with the 21-year-old, putting the club in “pole position” to sign him.
The problem at hand is trying to get Luzern to pay more for their midfield player because they are aware of their strong interest in him.
Other Italian teams like Lazio and Napoli are rumoured to be interested in Jashari, while Benfica is reported to have been in talks to sign him last summer.
Although West Ham isn’t mentioned in this specific piece, they may need to step up their efforts further to beat Bologna and company, given how far along they appeared to be in their pursuit of him before January.