Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Oldham-born billionaire businessman with an interest in buying Manchester United, outlined how he would run a top Premier League football club when he attempted to buy Chelsea earlier this year.
A spokesperson for Ratcliffe confirmed his interest in buying his boyhood club. The spokesperson told The Times back in August: "If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer. If something like this was possible, we would be interested in talking with a view to long-term ownership. This is not about the money that has been spent or not spent.
"Jim is looking at what can be done now and, knowing how important the club is to the city, it feels like the time is right for a reset."
The comments will have been welcomed by many United supporters, especially now that the Glazer family have said that they will now consider offers for the club.
Should Ratcliffe take over there will obviously be a lot of interest in what his plans are for United, and when he attempted to stage a takeover at Chelsea earlier this year, he said he wouldn't view it as a money-making enterprise - an approach he would surely also take at United.
"No, we’re not interested in making money out of Chelsea," Ratcliffe said. "Can we run that club really, really well and turn it into one of the finest clubs in Europe? That’s our ambition with Chelsea.
"We make lots of money in chemicals, we don’t need to make money out of (Chelsea). We don’t think of it as a financial asset."
His bid for Chelsea would ultimately fall flat as Todd Boehly took over the London club but that could end up being the best thing that has happened to United for many a year if it means Ratcliffe ends up at United instead.