Record Sport understands the Tannadice chairman flew to the States on Monday to hold talks with a potential new investor who could be willing to buy control of the crisis-hit club.
And we can also reveal that, while those talks are at an early stage, in the meantime Thompson is also considering standing down from his position at the head of the boardroom.
Thompson’s dash across the pond came after stormy scenes and protests at the end of Saturday’s defeat at home to Hamilton - a result which crushed United’s last slim hopes of dodging the drop down into next season’s Championship.
In the wake of that defeat, the club’s supporters trust wrote a letter demanding he and the rest of the board stand down in order to allow the fans to form their own interim regime to run the club’s affairs and head up the search for a new owner.
But Thompson has now grabbed the bull by the horns as he attempts to secure his own exit from Tannadice and claw back some of the millions his family has sunk into the club during their time in charge.