Manchester United have entered the decisive days of their season, with their prospects of success or failure resting on a handful of games in the Premier League and FA Cup. But thanks to the ongoing takeover saga surrounding the club, they are already facing a battle to keep pace with their rivals next season.

What happens off the field with the potential sale of the club has huge implications for United's future. Right now, though, the failure to resolve the ownership issue means that United might already have missed out on starting negotiations for potential signings such as Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice and Napoli forward Victor Osimhen. And the uncertainty over who will control the Premier League's biggest and most successful club may also lead to United losing star striker Marcus Rashford.

It is now almost six months since the Glazer family, United's owners, announced they were exploring "strategic alternatives" in order to "continue building on the club's history of success." Hopes among supporters that the process would lead to a swift sale and end the American family's contentious 18-year ownership of the club have been unfulfilled, with the Glazers still to decide whether to sell United completely or secure outside investment to remain at Old Trafford.

Three deadlines have passed for interested parties -- Jim Ratcliffe, Britain's richest man, and Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani are the two rival bidders to have emerged publicly -- to submit offers for the club. Despite the last deadline passing over two weeks ago, no group has yet been announced as the preferred bidder, so the process continues to drag on.

While manager Erik ten Hag attempts to secure Champions League qualification by winning two of their final three Premier League games, the biggest factor in United's ambitions for next season is centred on the boardroom of a New York investment bank. And the reality for United is that the takeover has now been drawn out for so long that even if Raine Group (the bank hired by the Glazers to oversee the search for a buyer or new investors) identifies a preferred in the coming days, too much time has been lost to ensure that the team can be strengthened properly in time for next season.