Anthony Elanga, Scott McTominay and six players Man Utd sold far too cheaply as Red Devils face up to more transfer market misery

Elanga emerged into the United first team at a time of crisis, doing so shortly after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had been sacked and Mason Greenwood had been suspended in late 2021. Elanga scored three goals in little more than a month and became the subject of a catchy chant to the theme of 90s smash hit 'Rhythm is a Dancer', which dubbed him 'United's saviour'. The Swede, however, was not the finished article and too much pressure was put on his young shoulders, which contributed to him failing to score again for the remainder of a hugely disappointing season.

United's transfer activity the following summer, however, was hugely insulting to their homegrown talent as they spent £85m on Antony from Ajax. Elanga thus barely got a look-in under Erik ten Hag, and was subsequently sold to Nottingham Forest for £15m in 2023. It felt like a reasonable deal for a player of his limited experience. but his progress at Forest, where he scored 11 Premier League goals and set up a further 20 over the course of two seasons, came in stark contrast to Antony's woeful form and Rashford's massive decline back at Old Trafford.

Now, while United scramble to find any serious bidders for their two unwanted wingers, Forest can celebrate more than tripling their investment on Elanga as he heads to Newcastle.

"How you can sell Scott is beyond me," was how Solskjaer reacted when discussing United's decision to sell McTominay to Napoli in the summer of 2024. Ten Hag later explained he did not want to part with the Scotland international, who had dug him out of plenty of holes in the past two seasons, but had little choice due to Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR) and the fact they could mark the whole transfer fee as 'pure profit'.

The fact that Ten Hag did sanction McTominay's sale showed that when push came to shove, the Dutchman ultimately saw the homegrown midfielder as a squad player, a super-sub rather than a regular starter. In the end, United sold McTominay for £25m, which was £5m less than West Ham had offered them for the same player in the previous summer, while the financial boost his sale provided was soon wiped out by the arrival of Joshua Zirkzee for £36.6m.

While Zirkzee was ridiculed by United fans in his first few months with the club, McTominay was an instant hit at the Stadio Diego Maradona and fired Napoli to the Serie A title, while also being named the league's MVP. McTominay has proven to be an utter steal for Antonio Conte's side and another sign that United cannot spot value, even when it has been at the club for a decade.

United essentially played most of the 2023-24 campaign without any natural left-backs, but in hindsight it seems that they had a future Real Madrid player on their hands and never used him. Carreras was developing well after an impressive season on loan at Preston North End, but despite Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia suffering early injury setbacks, they preferred to sign Sergio Reguilon from Tottenham rather than play Carreras, who was instead sent out for another loan at Granada.

To tell the truth, Carreras did not exactly thrive at Granada, and when Benfica asked to take him on loan for the second half of the season with an option to buy him permanently, United jumped at the offer. And while United slumped to two consecutive horror seasons without a reliable left-back, Carreras excelled in Portugal, and Benfica now stand to make an astonishing profit on him while United are left cursing the fact that they not only failed to spot his potential in the first place, but that they did not exercise the buy-back option they had inserted into his contract.

Gerard Pique has described his time at United, whom he joined from Barcelona as a 17-year-old, as being 'a Master's degree in development as a player and a person', but the Red Devils had no idea that they had a genius among their ranks and instead let him leave for almost nothing.

Pique got limited opportunities at United due to the impenetrable partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, but Sir Alex Ferguson made a big mistake in not seeing the centre-back's future potential and letting him return to Barca for a mere £5m. Indeed, Ferguson seemed to think United would be in safer hands with Jonny Evans.

The legendary manager showed his human touch by granting Pique's request to return home, but just a year later was made to see the error of his ways when the defender cleared a Ji-sung Park shot off the line in the 2009 Champions League final while Barca outclassed United before doing the same in the 2011 showpiece.

Pique became one of Barca and Spain's greatest defenders of all time, and his sale for such a low fee must go down as one of Ferguson's greatest mistakes. It showed that not even the best manager of his time was immune from failing to spot potential.

Angel di Maria has had a truly exceptional career, winning major trophies and endearing himself to fans at every major club he has been at - with the exception, of course, of United. The Argentine did not want to join the Red Devils, if truth be told, and felt he was being forced out of Real Madrid by Florentino Perez just weeks after his heroic performance in Los Blancos winning their first Champions League title in 12 years. Still, a £60m transfer felt about right for a 26-year-old who was one of the best wingers in the world at the time.

Di Maria's time at United, however, proved to be hugely disappointing, as Louis van Gaal did not know how to make the most of his attributes, which failed to shine through in the Dutchman's possession-heavy style of play. His family's struggles to settle in Manchester and a scary break-in at their home did not help matters either, and it was deemed in everyone's best interests to cut ties just one year later.

The winger's poor spell at Old Trafford sliced £16m off his transfer value, and Di Maria joined Paris Saint-Germain for £44m. With hindsight, United should have held out for far more as that season proved merely a blip in Di Maria's otherwise exceptional career. He amassed 92 goals and 120 assists in seven years with PSG while winning 14 major trophies, and seven years after leaving United, at the ripe old age of 34, he scored in a World Cup final and lifted football's biggest prize.

'He came from Uruguay, he made the Scousers cry.' Who could forget the iconic chant United fans made up for Diego Forlan after his match-winning double against Liverpool? Forlan's brace at Anfield became part of United folklore because it was so unexpected. After all, the striker had taken 27 games to score his first goal since his £7m move from Argentine side Independiente in January 2002.

His goals against Southampton and Chelsea also proved vital to United snatching the Premier League title back from Arsenal, but that did not change the inescapable fact that he was a failure at United, and that he moved to Villarreal two-and-a-half years later for just £2m seemed to be the club acknowledging that they had over-estimated his ability when they first scouted him. It turned out, however, that they had underestimated the Uruguayan, who thrived in Spain. He finished top scorer in his first campaign in La Liga with 25 goals and two years later moved to Atletico Madrid for £14m.

Forlan subsequently became an icon at the Vicente Calderon, top scoring again in the 2008-09 season with 32 goals before firing Atletico to Europa League glory in 2010. He also claimed the Golden Boot and Golden Ball at the 2010 World Cup, in addition to winning the Copa America in 2011. He has even continued to pull off remarkable sporting achievements since retiring as a footballer, as last year he became a professional tennis player at the age of 45.