The club want something in keeping with their roots in an industrial city and it is anticipated the statues around the current stadium would be relocated to any new ground.
Ratcliffe wants local and national government to play some part in funding the overall project although, realistically, that is likely to involve transport links.
Exactly how the stadium would be financed is one of the subjects still under discussion.
At current exchange rates, United’s present debt is £647.5m, excluding outstanding transfer fee payments, made up of $650m (£504.5m) historic debt as a legacy of the Glazer family takeover in 2005 and £143m from a rolling credit facility.
The Glazers are being kept up to date with the discussions.
Sources said United’s chief operating officer Collette Roche has been assessing stadium redevelopments worldwide, including the Optus Stadium in Perth, which opened in 2018, and Real Madrid’s renovated Bernabeu Stadium.
There has also been discussion with officials at the 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium, where United were beaten by Arsenal in a US tour game on Saturday.
Inglewood Mayor James T Butts confirmed Gunners’ owner Stan Kroenke paid all $5bn (£3.88bn) to build SoFi Stadium, home to the LA Rams and LA Chargers NFL sides, describing it as the “pre-eminent stadium in the world”.
He told BBC Sport: “Ordinarily, when a team goes into a new stadium, the city pays $300-$500m (£232.86m-£388.1m) for construction costs or an equivalent amount of land.
“We did neither of those things. What we had was the location. We made a deal that suited both of us but it didn’t involve funding or buying land. Stan Kroenke paid $5bn (£3.88bn).”