Manchester United are considering redeveloping their Old Trafford stadium, including plans put forward to rebuild the ground on the current site.
The Premier League club are in talks with planners over potential development plans for the site and they are keeping all options open, including extending the south stand over the railway lines and completely rebuilding the stadium.
United are yet to appoint a preferred partner for the work, but planners competing for the contract have offered a variety of schemes and club officials are keeping an open mind at this stage of the process,
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Speaking at the most recent fans' forum, chief operating officer Collette Roche said: "Turning to stadium development, since our last meeting we have been assessing the capabilities of globally-leading consultants who want to help us develop a masterplan for the modernisation of Old Trafford, with the ultimate aim of improving the matchday experience for fans.
"We have met with companies across a range of disciplines, including architecture, engineering, construction, crowd modelling, transport, security and many more.
"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."
United have listened to a range of ideas on how to improve Old Trafford, with the intention of bringing the ground back up to standard amongst the leading clubs in the Premier League. New builds at Arsenal and, most recently, Tottenham now set the standard and it's become clear Old Trafford needs an upgrade.
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United have vowed to consult fans during the process. Any plan would be a phased build which would allow them to continue playing at Old Trafford during the work.
Manchester United recently revealed that their operating losses slumped by almost 90% during its latest quarter, forcing the club into the red for the first half of their financial year.
The club posted operating losses of £4.8m for the six months to December 31, 2021, compared to the £21.4m profit they achieved during the same period in 2020.
However, United's total revenue for the half year increased from £281.8m to £311.9m but their adjusted EBITDA fell from £91.1m to £69.1m.
The club's commercial revenue increased from £122.3m to £128.8m, with matchday revenue rising from £3.2m to £53.4m but broadcasting revenue dipped from £156.3m to £129.7m.
For United's second quarter, the club's total revenue increased from £172.8m to £185.4m while their commercial revenue went from £62.6m to £64.4m and matchday income rose from £1.5m to £34.6m.
However, their broadcasting revenue fell from £108.7m to £86.4m, operating profits slumped from £48.5m to £5.4m and their adjusted EBITDA decreased from £70.3m to £57.9m.