Sports Mole looks at Manchester United’s five most expensive signings of all time, with Paul Pogba still at the top of the list.
The 2024 summer transfer window has now officially opened for the Premier League, with the market running from June 14 until August 30 at 11pm.
Manchester United are expected to be active this summer, with the club attempting to improve on what was a very disappointing 2023-24 campaign, finishing down in eighth spot in the table.
However, the 20-time English champions did manage to win the FA Cup, which saw them secure a spot in the group stage of the 2024-25 Europa League.
The club are believed to be looking to sign a centre-back, central midfielder and a striker this summer, but there will have to be outgoings due to financial restrictions.
Man United are expected to target young players rather than established stars, but they will still have to pay a premium due to their standing as one of the biggest football clubs on the planet.
Here, Sports Mole looks at the club’s five most expensive signings of all time, with Paul Pogba still at the top of the list following his return to the club from Juventus.
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Man United signed Lukaku from Everton in July 2017, with the Red Devils paying in the region of £72m for his signature. The Belgium international scored 42 goals and registered 13 assists in 96 matches for the English giants, which is a respectable record all things considered.
Lukaku found it difficult to truly settle at Old Trafford, though, and he did not win any silverware at Old Trafford before making the move to Inter Milan in 2019.
Chelsea paid a club-record £97.5m fee to bring the striker back to Stamford Bridge in 2021, but he only managed eight Premier League goals in 2021-22 and was allowed to return to Inter for the 2022-23 campaign, before joining Roma on loan for the 2023-24 season.
Lukaku has scored 121 goals in the Premier League during spells with West Bromwich Albion, Chelsea, Everton and Man United, but it remains to be seen whether he is seen in England’s top flight again.
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Sancho finally arrived at Old Trafford in July 2021 for a fee in the region of £72.3m, with the England international returning to Manchester one year after first being linked with the club.
The 24-year-old found it difficult to show his best form for Man United in his first season, managing just five goals and three assists in 38 appearances in all competitions.
Sancho struck seven goals in his second campaign at Old Trafford, but he was restricted to just three appearances for the Red Devils in 2023-24, as a fall-out with head coach Erik ten Hag led to him returning to Borussia Dortmund on loan for the second half of the season.
Dortmund want to re-sign him on a permanent basis this summer, but it remains to be seen whether a deal can be agreed between the two clubs.
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Man United’s third most expensive signing of all time is Maguire, with the Englishman completing a big-money move to the club from Leicester City in the summer of 2019.
Maguire enjoyed a strong first two seasons at Old Trafford, but there is no getting away from the fact that he has struggled to replicate those performances over the last three campaigns.
He was strongly linked with a move away from the club in the summer of 2023 but turned down a switch to West Ham United, and the 31-year-old made 31 appearances during an injury-hit 2023-24 campaign.
The Englishman has made 206 appearances for the Red Devils since his arrival and has won two trophies – the EFL Cup in 2022-23 and the FA Cup in 2023-24.
2. Antony (£81.3m from Ajax in August 2022)
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Antony became Man United’s second-most expensive signing of all time when he arrived for just over £81m during the 2022 summer transfer window.
The Brazil international scored 24 goals and registered 22 assists in 82 games for his former club, winning two Eredivisie titles and one KNVB Cup in the process.
The deal was a record sale for an Eredivisie outfit, surpassing Matthijs de Ligt‘s switch from Ajax to Juventus in July 2019, which was a fee in the region of £77m.
However, Antony has struggled to make his mark for the 20-time English champions, only managing 11 goals in 82 appearances, and the forward could potentially be on the move this summer.
1. Paul Pogba (£89m from Juventus in August 2016)
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Pogba remains Man United’s most expensive signing of all time, with the France international moving to the Red Devils for a second time in 2016 for a fee in the region of £89m.
The midfielder initially represented the Red Devils between 2009 and 2012, but he only made seven first-team appearances for the club before making the move to Juventus on a free transfer.
In his second spell, the 29-year-old turned out for Man United on 226 occasions, winning the Europa League and EFL Cup.
Pogba was allowed to leave on a free transfer when his contract expired, though, and he again made the move to Juventus.
Man United never saw the best of the talented midfielder on a consistent basis, and the fact that not too many contested his departure on a free transfer is an indication that the relationship had to come to an end.