Revealed: How Man Utd fumbled potential Jamal Musiala transfer and let Benjamin Sesko slip through their grasp as Red Devils' baffling recruitment approach laid bare in shocking new report

United's bungling transfer business over the past decade has been exposed in a report by The Athletic, which reveals that the club missed out on two of the biggest stars of Euro 2024 when they were teenagers. United were offered the chance to take Musiala on trial when he was 15 and on his way out of Chelsea but pulled out of a potential deal due to transfer regulations, considering it to be 'too risky'. Musiala has since become a star for Bayern Munich and has lit up the European Championship with Germany.

Also in 2018, United had the chance to sign Sesko for €2m (£1.7m/$2.1m) but refused to bid more than €1.2m for the Slovenian striker, who joined RB Salzburg instead and is now worth at least £50m ($63m). Instead, United opted to sign Dutch winger Dillon Hoogewerf, who left the club in 2022 and is now playing for Borussia Moenchengladbach's reserve side.

Lyndon Tomlinson, United’s assistant head of academy recruitment between 2017 and 2021, told The Athletic: “We were saying, ‘Dillon will cost us €130,000 from Ajax, Sesko will cost us €2m. But we think if we spread the risk over the two players at least one of them should make it’. And they were different profiles. Sesko was athletic, tall, strong, whereas Dillon was smaller and more explosive. So we felt we had the bases covered if we got both. Then you end up getting the one that doesn’t quite do it. You always think, ‘What if?’”

United have ramped up efforts to make signings this summer and improve the squad after coming eighth in the Premier League last season, their worst ever finish. They are in advanced talks to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich and are looking at PSG midfielder Manuel Ugarte as well as Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee.

United have beefed up their player recruitment strategy by finally hiring Dan Ashworth this week as sporting director, having brought in Jason Wilcox as technical director in April. The pair, as well as incoming CEO Omar Berrada, will be tasked with making United a force to be reckoned with again in the transfer market.

They will aim to equip Erik ten Hag with the best squad possible for when the new Premier League season starts on August 16.