While the club and the mayor remain ambitious to build the new home for United, at the moment, the design has been paused as they would need additional land around the stadium. A Red Devils spokesperson told The Mirror last month: "While Manchester United owns a significant portion of land around Old Trafford, it is not all in a single, continuous block. To accommodate the scale of the proposed new stadium – including a canopy – and to avoid disruption to the existing stadium during construction, we are working to secure additional land. We've been engaged in constructive discussions with neighbouring landholders and are optimistic about reaching mutually agreeable terms in the coming months.
"Early design work has been intentionally paused until we have greater clarity on land assembly and fan requirements. As with other aspects of the project, we encourage fans to treat speculative media reports with caution. We remain excited by the vision set out by Foster + Partners for a new stadium at the heart of a wider regeneration of the Old Trafford area. “We always said this was a conceptual design, with more detailed architectural work to follow. While we remain keen to advance as quickly as possible, the timetable is subject to progress on land assembly and financing, which depends on key stakeholders working together."