£350m+: The staggering transfer value decrease in Man Utd’s squad
The way that Manchester United have built their squad in recent years has come under a lot of criticism, and it’s not difficult to see why.
The club have famously struggled to offload players deemed surplus to requirements and that issue continues this summer – whereby they’re reportedly looking to cash in on 13 first-team players. But there are a number of players in Erik ten Hag’s squad that are worth considerably less now than the price United bought them for.
We’ve taken a look at every player in Manchester United’s squad that are worth less now than the fee United paid to sign them originally.
Harry Maguire
Bought for: £80million
Current market value: £17million
To be honest, we’d massively quibble with Transfermarkt’s valuation here. His stock has fallen considerably since being pushed to the periphery by Erik ten Hag, but not quite to this extent.
The Daily Mail report that Manchester United’s club captain will be allowed to leave if a £40million bid comes in – and it’s not at all unthinkable that happens. Yet that’s still half as much as United when they signed him from Leicester for a world-record £80million fee for a defender back in 2019.
Jadon Sancho
Bought for: £73million
Current market value: £38.7million
Oh, Jadon.
READ: Ranking Man Utd’s 13 players up for sale from least to most useless
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Bought for: £55million
Current market value: £21.5million
The right-back arrived at Old Trafford as one of the most expensive players in history in 2019.
He’s since made over 100 Premier League appearances for United but hasn’t quite progressed as hoped, as evidenced by his transfer valuation – at his peak age of 25 – being less than half what United originally paid Crystal Palace for his signature.
Antony
Bought for: £85million
Current market value: £51.5million
Ajax received an eyebrow-raising £85million for the Brazil international winger, who reunited with Erik ten Hag a few months after the Dutch coach was appointed. The only player that United have ever paid more for was Paul Pogba, which can perhaps be ready as a cautionary tale not heeded.
The 23-year-old had his moments as United got back into the top four and ended a six-year trophy drought in his debut season, but he’s yet to justify such a colossal fee. It would be hasty to write Antony off this early, however; there’s still plenty of time for him to come good.
Fred
Bought for: £52million
Current market value: £17.2million
Among the 13 players that United are looking to cash in on this summer, Fred’s asking price is reportedly in the region of £20million. The 32-year-old Brazilian cost £52million to transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Eric Bailly
Bought for: £30million
Current market value: £2million
Oh, Eric.
READ: 18 times Man Utd’s Eric Bailly was the funniest player in the world
Donny van de Beek
Bought for: £35.7million
Current market value: £11.2million
Oh, Donny.
Casemiro
Bought for: £60milllion
Current market value: £34million
Resale value was evidently never in United’s calculations when they signed Casemiro for a big money fee at the age of 30 last summer. The Brazilian isn’t a long-term investment but rather a here-and-now impact signing. And given United’s place in football’s food chain, that’s not unreasonable.
Casemiro has certainly held up his side of the bargain. Red cards and suspensions aside, he had a transformative impact in Ten Hag’s squad and played a vital role in getting the club back into the Champions League.
We’d also question Transfermarkt’s valuation of the midfield enforcer. Anyone offering just £34million for Casemiro this summer would be laughed out of the room.
READ: Harry Kane next? Man Utd’s last 9 over-30 signings and how they fared
Anthony Martial
Bought for: £36million
Current market value: £12.9million
We’re classing Martial as £36million for the initial fee United paid Monaco for a teenage Martial all the way back in 2015. Later reports suggested that add-ons were triggered meaning that the actual total fee was £44.7million.
One thing that’s abundantly clear is that the French striker is now only worth a fraction of what United originally paid for his signature. He looked like he might be well worth the money after that debut goal against Liverpool and early promising signs.
The problem with Martial is arguably how United have handled him. He’s scored just 11 league goals in the last three seasons and yet remains contracted until 2024 on hefty wages after last signing a new deal in 2019. At the time the club might have argued they were protecting a key asset, but with the benefit of hindsight they just made an injury-prone and underperforming player very difficult to shift – a mistake they’ve made all too often in the post-Ferguson era.
Amad Diallo
Bought for: £37.2milllion
Current market value: £15.5million
The Ivorian forward was among the most highly-rated youngsters in Europe at Atalanta, but he barely had any first-team experience under his belt so sanctioning a mammoth £37.2million always represented a risk.
Diallo realised lots of his potential with an exceptional season out on loan at Championship club Sunderland last season. There’s still a long way to go before the 20-year-old can justify such a large price tag, but it was a major step in the right direction. Watch this space.
🗣️ "That should be game, set and match!" ✅
Exquisite from Amad Diallo who doubles Sunderland's lead! 👏 pic.twitter.com/EtfEKRTS8T
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 22, 2023
Victor Lindelof
Bought for: £30.7million
Current market value: £15.5million
It’s easy to forget now that United spent over £30million to sign Lindelof from Benfica in 2017. With over 200 appearances across six years, he certainly hasn’t been a disaster. But he’s also not quite been at the elite, trophy-collecting level United aspire to be at.
Were United to sell him now, they’d certainly make a considerable loss. That’s despite him being 28 and remaining tied down with a contract option that runs to 2025. There should be resale value there.
Alex Telles
Bought for: £18million
Current market value: £6.4million
An unsuccessful loan to Sevilla failed to put Telles in the shop window. You can’t imagine the club will have an easy time of offloading the left-back this summer.
Phil Jones
Bought for: £16million
Current market value: £1.3million
Twelve years of service is certainly no bad return on a £16million investment back in 2011. He might not’ve been the next Duncan Edwards but Jones was a quality centre-back on his day and enjoyed some better-than-decent seasons at Old Trafford.
But he departs for nothing after making just six Premier League appearances in the last four seasons. Handing him a four-year deal back in 2019 remains an absolutely baffling decision.
Thank you @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/HtB9koypkt
— Phil Jones (@PhilJones4) May 19, 2023
David de Gea
Bought for: £18.9million
Current market value: £11million
De Gea’s market value is technically irrelevant here, as if he does depart the club this summer, it will be on a free transfer after failing to agree a new contract.
But his current value tells us something about the trajectory his career has taken in recent years. He’s still capable of world-class saves on his day, but no longer gets into the Spain squad amid questions of his ability to play out from the back for a modern progressive side.
United paid a British record £18.9million fee for a goalkeeper to sign him from Atletico Madrid back in 2011. He’s since paid that back with a key role in the club’s last-time victory and 12 years of service, but the club hierarchy may well regret not cashing in when he might’ve made them a considerable profit.
Only a dodgy fax machine stopped Real Madrid signing De Gea for £29million back in 2015. A big hinge point in the Red Devils’ recent history, that.
Raphael Varane
Bought for: £34million
Current market value: £30million
As with Casemiro above, United were never investing in Varane’s potential transfer value. A £34million fee for a French World Cup winner with four Champions Leagues under his belt was a bargain.
When the time eventually comes for Varane to leave Old Trafford, United are unlikely to recoup that relatively low transfer fee – but there can be a reasonable expectation he’ll have proved his worth by consistently getting United into the Champions League and delivering silverware.
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