Lukaku was, incredibly, a £76m arrival from Everton in 2017. Just two years later, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer unconvinced by the Belgian, he departed after scoring 42 times in 96 appearances.
The 29-year-old’s £97.5m move from Inter Milan to Chelsea last summer made him the most expensive player in world football in terms of accumulated transfer fees. That deal has hardly worked out either, with Lukaku already linked with a return to Italy.
Di Maria was once fourth on the list of United’s most expensive signings but was relegated to fifth when Jadon Sancho was signed for £72m last summer. The Argentine was a blockbuster, then-club record £67m buy in 2014 but left a year later having failed to perform under Louis van Gaal.
There was evidence of Sancho being a success at Old Trafford last term but he will certainly hope for a better campaign under Ten Hag. De Jong will need to bust the stereotype of United’s most expensive signings failing to deliver.
