Sir Jim Ratcliffe plan, £1bn decision, Man United deadline - Old Trafford redevelopment latest

Manchester United will soon have to commit to a long-term decision over Old Trafford.

The Red Devils are faced with the dilemma of having to rebuild their current home or consider relocating to a new location, having suffered the side effects of a stadium that is in need of repair.

Water leaks have proven to be somewhat of an issue in recent times and cropped up once again during a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal last month, issuing another reminder of Old Trafford's sorry state.

A sustainable design to transformed United's ground by Norwegian company Vill Arkitektur recently emerged, focusing on a circular stadium shape to break away from the current structure, and plenty of other ideas have been brought to the table by external parties.

Below is a round-up of what has been reported of late as regards redeveloping Old Trafford.

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Sir Jim Ratcliffe aim

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has hopes of turning Old Trafford into a ground capable of housing up to 100,000 spectators.

Explaining his vision for this plan, which would involve knocking down Old Trafford and rebuilding on the current site, the United co-owner told the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast: "You have got this opportunity if you choose to, to build a completely new ground because we have got enough space to build a completely new ground. If you built a completely new ground it would absolutely be state of the art, world-class, 90,000 or maybe even 100,000 (capacity).

"That then provides a platform for some of the big competitions in the north of England. Football is just as important in the north as it is in the south, arguably more so. The people in the north pay the taxes.

"So why do we have Wembley in the south? Why do we have Twickenham in the south? Why do we have Wimbledon in the south? Why do we have the Olympic Village in the south? Why do we have the O2 concert arena in the south?

"And what have we got in the north? What's all this sort of levelling up stuff and you know, the Great Northern Powerhouse - great words, but what's actually been done?"

Gary Neville task force

Headed up by Lord Sebastian Coe, Gary Neville is part of a task force exploring the regeneration of Old Trafford and how best to proceed with plans for the stadium.

Coe, the former head of the organising committee for the 2012 London Olympics, will chair the 'Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force' alongside Neville, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and the chief executive of Trafford Council, Sara Todd.

A statement from the task force said: "A joint task force has been created to explore options for regenerating the Old Trafford area of Greater Manchester, with the development of a world-class football stadium at the heart of the project.

"The 'Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force' will bring together local leaders and national experts to examine how stadium development can support renewal of an area of the city with rich industrial history and huge potential for the future, and deliver social and economic benefits for the entire region."

£1bn decision

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has previously revealed he expects the cost of a new-look Old Trafford to cost in the region of £1billion.

"I mean we can refurbish the ground and we'll do a really nice job of that, it will be a fantastic stadium. And that would cost about a billion [pounds] to do that and the club can shoulder that burden," he explained.

An entirely new ground, on the other hand, is expected to come to between £1.5bn and £2bn.

Greater Manchester Mayor Burnham said earlier this year: "Whatever it is they [Ratcliffe and INEOS] want, we will facilitate and we will be there to make sure the club is set up for the future."

Old Trafford decision deadline

It is anticipated the Old Trafford task force are working towards a deadline of the end of July for making a decision over what comes next for United's home.

Speaking at a recent fans' forum, chief operating officer Collette Roche said: "We are hoping to appoint our preferred partners in the coming weeks. Following this, we will be able to formally kick-off Phase 1 of the project, which will be focused on establishing the vision and objectives for the Masterplan."

Sources have indicated that it has not yet been decided which architectural firm is given the contract to redevelop Old Trafford. That will fall under the next stage of the project.