Manchester United could be playing at their brand new 100,000-capacity stadium by 2031, but several other pieces of the puzzle need to fall into place for that to be even remotely possible.

Having taken on leading British architect firm Foster + Partners, United wowed the football and wider world with colourful projections of what a new Old Trafford will look like as the heart of a wonderfully regenerated urban area.

But the striking vision, which includes a three-pronged canopy inspired by the Red Devil trident on the club's crest, still requires planning permission and financing for it to actually get off the ground.

The project has been given government backing, but United are also still waiting for guarantees from the UK government regarding investment and public funding for the surrounding area.

The Daily Mail state that another important jigsaw piece is a "land swap" that will provide the necessary space on which to start building the new stadium while continuing to use the existing Old Trafford uninterrupted.

That could come one of two ways. The first is a potential deal to acquire land from Freightliner, the freight firm that owns adjacent land behind Old Trafford. Talks are said to have been positive, but Freightliner might not be able to relocate to their new site in St Helens until 2029, which would obviously heavily delay the start of the Old Trafford by several years.

The alternative is to "swap" an area of land that United already own at the back of a car park and start building work there, that would allow Freightliner to carry on in the meantime, until a more permanent solution is found. It means that groundbreaking could begin from early 2026, at which point the five-year projection set out by Sir Jim Ratcliffe would actually start. At present, that clock is paused.

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