No 'Harlem Globetrotters' at Man Utd: Director of football outlines current transfer strategy

Martin Macdonald

• 7 Nov 2025 06:01 CST
• 7 min read

Nieuws

Manchester United director of football Jason Wilcox has outlined some details about the current transfer strategy under owners Ineos at Old Trafford.

Since Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co. took over the club, there has been a noticeable change in strategy to go after younger players who have the ability to improve and potentially be sold on.

United had spent years chasing established stars on huge contracts and that, obviously, didn't work out as they haven't won the Premier League since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Wilcox name-dropped exhibition basketball team Harlem Globetrotters as a route that the club were actively looking to avoid. Instead of sensationalist theatre, they are looking now more towards function.

"I think you have to bring players in that bring something different to the changing room," he told the official club website.

"The most important thing is that, whenever we bring in a player, they have to want to improve and they have to be a team player, and understand what it means to be part of a successful team.

"It is not about putting the Harlem Globetrotters together. If I look at successful Man United teams, there were very functional players that would die for the badge and there were some mavericks.

"When you talk about Eric Cantona, when you hear anybody talk about him, he was the ultimate professional.

"What we have got to do, despite all the noise, we have just got to remain calm and understand that we are heading in a positive direction.

"We are going to have bumps in the road and it's important that we smooth out the bumps and not get over excited or too disappointed."

United have had a tough time under current boss Ruben Amorim, but things have improved recently as they have gone on a four-match undefeated streak.

The 10 most expensive Man Utd signings of all time

10. Matheus Cunha - €74.2m (from Wolves, 2025)

Man Utd made Matheus Cunha their first major signing of the 2025-26 season in the hopes of bouncing back from a disastrous campaign.

With the Red Devils finishing 15th in the Premier League and being one of the lowest scorers in the competition, manager Ruben Amorim was desperate to sign some proven fire-power, which led to his side activating Matheus Cunha's €74.2m release clause at Wolves.

Cunha grabbed 27 goals and 13 assists in his final two seasons for Wolves, indicating just why United were desperate to beat sides to his signature.

9. Angel Di Maria - €75m (from Real Madrid, 2014)

After reaching the World Cup final with Argentina and having spent several years at Real Madrid, Angel Di Maria was seen as a monumental signing for Man Utd in 2014, when he joined for a club-record fee.

With the famous No.7 on his back, Di Maria started well, with three goals and four assists in his first six games, including a gorgeous, impudent chip at Leicester.

But it very quickly went south with rumours of a rift behind the scenes. His wife would later label Manchester a “s***hole” following his move to PSG after just 12 months in England.

8. Bryan Mbeumo - €75m (from Brentford, 2025)

In 2025, Man Utd splashed the cash in Ruben Amorim's first summer window in charge. After signing the aforementioned Cunha for €74.2m, they added Brentford attacker Bryan Mbeumo to their side as well.

The Red Devils shelled out an eye-watering €75m on the Cameroon international despite the fact that he only had two years remaining on his deal at Brentford.

Mbeumo arrived at Old Trafford after scoring 20 Premier League goals during the 2024-25 season.

7. Benjamin Sesko - €76.5m (from RB Leipzig, 2025)

Despite signing the aforementioned Cunha and Mbeumo, it was clear that Man Utd still desperately needed a new striker. After missing out on Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal, RB Leipzig youngster Benjamin Sesko became the Red Devils' top target.

After a lengthy battle with Newcastle, Man Utd managed to strike an €85m deal with Leipzig. Sesko only had his heart set on moving to Old Trafford, and Man Utd director of recruitment Christopher Vivell, formerly a scout and director at Red Bull, played a huge role in making the deal happen.

Sesko scored 39 goals and provided eight assists in 87 appearances for RB Leipzig.

6. Rasmus Hojlund - €77.8m (from Atalanta, 2023)

With many rivals spending big on attackers in the 2023 summer transfer window, Man Utd got in on the action by splashing out on Denmark youngster Rasmus Hojlund.

The Red Devils spent several weeks negotiating with Atalanta before agreeing a €77.8m fee for the young striker, despite his lack of experience at the top level.

Hojlund scored a measly tally of 26 goals in 95 games for Man Utd, before Napoli on loan with an obligation to buy in 2025.

5. Romelu Lukaku - €84.7m (from Everton, 2017)

Romelu Lukaku had a mixed time at Man Utd after joining the club for €84.7m from Everton.

The Belgian scored 16 and 12 goals in his two Premier League seasons at Old Trafford, respectively, before leaving and going on to greater heights at Inter.

All in all, Lukaku put together two relatively decent campaigns at Old Trafford and considering Man Utd sold him to Inter for €74m, he wasn't the colossal failure he is sometimes made out to be.

4. Jadon Sancho - €85m (from Borussia Dortmund, 2021)

Man Utd spent the best part of a year trying to sign Jadon Sancho before finally getting their man in the summer of 2021.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had been searching for a top-class right-winger for quite some time and was delighted to bring in a player who had developed into one of the most exciting players in Europe at Borussia Dortmund.

However, Sancho struggled during his first two seasons at Old Trafford before he was frozen out by Erik ten Hag in September 2023 following the pair's public feud. He was loaned to Chelsea in 2024, before joining Aston Villa on another loan deal in 2025.

3. Harry Maguire - €87m (from Leicester City, 2019)

Just 18 months after Liverpool made Virgil van Dijk the most expensive defender in history, Man Utd broke that record by signing Harry Maguire from Leicester City.

It took the Englishman just half a season to become the permanent Man Utd captain, and despite initial concerns over the fee, he became one of the first names on Solskjaer’s team sheet.

However, he was stripped of the captaincy by Ten Hag ahead of the 2023-24 season after losing his place in the Man Utd starting XI and he is widely considered as a flop at Old Trafford.

2. Antony - €95m (from Ajax, 2022)

Man Utd landed Antony on Transfer Deadline Day in the summer of 2022 to set a new record for the most expensive deal ever concluded on the final day of the summer window.

He was deemed a priority signing by Ten Hag throughout the summer and Man Utd finally completed a deal for a whopping €95m.

After a poor two-and-a-half year stint at Old Trafford, Antony joined Real Betis on loan in January 2025 and he then rejoined the club on another deal just six months later.

1. Paul Pogba - €105m (from Juventus, 2016)

Paul Pogba made his widely-publicised return to Man Utd for a world-record transfer fee of €105m during the 2016 summer window.

He arrived following a stellar stint at Juventus, during which time he established himself as one of the world’s best midfielders, but his second spell at Old Trafford saw him struggle with inconsistency and injury problems.

When fully fit and firing, Pogba was impossible to stop, but he ultimately failed to live up to his price tag and he left on a free transfer to rejoin Juventus in 2022.

Most expensive Man Utd signings of all time

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