Man Utd, beware! 12 terrible INEOS transfers that should serve as a warning under Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Once touted as a future superstar, the Dane was the first signing of the INEOS era at Nice and remains among their top-three most expensive acquisitions.

However, Dolberg's time at the club was forgettable. A solid debut season where he had 15 goal involvements preceded two mightily underwhelming campaigns. He subsequently spent two unsuccessful seasons out on loan before taking the step down into Belgian football with Anderlecht in the summer, for a fraction of the price Nice paid in 2019.

Barkley is adamant he wasn't given a fair chance during his sole season in France, and he is arguably proving that was the case with his fine form back in the Premier League with Luton Town.

After leaving Chelsea, the England international never nailed down a starting place at Nice in 2022-23 under Lucien Favre, and similarly Didier Digard once the Swiss was sacked in January.

Another arrival from the England who only lasted one season on the Cote d'Azur. Schmeichel's time at Nice was an unmitigated disaster, with the goalkeeper reportedly turning up for pre-season overweight and being booed by his own fans within months of his arrival.

The 37-year-old unsurprisingly saw his contract torn up in September 2023, and he has since followed Dolberg to Anderlecht in Belgium.

Like Barkley, most Premier League and Serie A viewers would tell you that signing a 31-year-old, injury-plagued Ramsey was not a risk worth taking, but INEOS rolled the dice in 2022.

To his credit, the Welshman was able to stay fit throughout the campaign and played his part in a remarkable 12-game unbeaten run in Ligue 1, although he made just four goal contributions in all competitions. His contract was mutually terminated two months after a one-year extension had been triggered, reportedly because he wanted a deal until 2025, and he has since returned to boyhood club Cardiff, where his injury problems have caught up with him again.

INEOS and Nice banked on Arsenal flop Pepe recapturing his best form back in France when they signed him on loan in the summer of 2022.

It initially seemed as though the risk might pay off, as the winger returned nine goal contributions and emerged as their top scorer by the time January rolled around. However, tendonitis in his knee brought his campaign to an abrupt end.

Unfortunately for INEOS, this was not a case of 'like father, like son'. Ratcliffe and co clearly wanted to make something of a statement having made their first foray into football club ownership with Swiss side Lausanne in 2017, with football icon Zinedine's oldest son Enzo becoming their first-ever signing in January 2018.

INEOS have since admitted their own naivety in those early days, and this was a move that didn't work out despite Enzo's pedigree. He made just 16 appearances for Lausanne before being loaned out for a season and subsequently left on a free transfer to Portugal's Desportivo Aves just 18 months after his arrival.

A very recent miss from United's new owners, Sorensen joined Nice on loan from Premier League side Brentford for the 2022-23 season.

The defender would be recalled in January having failed to make a single competitive appearance for Les Aiglons - an utterly bizarre transfer decision and a waste of time for all involved.

The signing of then-22-year-old Stengs was seen as something of a coup back in 2021, but he is yet another player who lasted just a single season on the French Riviera.

The Netherlands international never played in his preferred No.10 role and failed to recapture the form that had made him look like such an exciting talent at AZ Alkmaar. After a productive loan spell in Belgium, he was brought back to his home country by Feyenoord for less than half of the fee Nice paid two years prior.

Nice spent relatively big to land young centre-back Viti from Empoli in 2022, but he has already moved on having failed to break into the starting line-up.

The Italian made just 12 appearances across the campaign and Les Aiglons only kept a clean sheet in one of those games. He's now back in his home country at Sassuolo on loan, but has three-and-a-half years to run on his Nice contract.

The summer of 2022 was not a good one for INEOS' transfer negotiators. Then-Fulham defender Bryan was among a raft of arrivals, but - like so many others - he failed to make an impression.

The Englishman mustered just 10 appearances all season and was afforded a mere 175 minutes of action in Ligue 1.

Another example of INEOS' slightly alarming willingness to gamble, Nice spent €12.5m (£11m/$14m) on Paris Saint-Germain academy graduate Nsoki in 2019 when he had just 16 first-team appearances to his name.

A match-winning, stoppage-time assist on debut was a high point, but the versatile defender's second season was particularly disappointing for the club overall as they finished down in ninth. Nice made a big loss as they sold Nsoki to Club Brugge in 2021, and he was snapped up by Bundesliga side Hoffenheim one year later as the Belgians made a significant profit.

The personification of INEOS' Football Manager-esque approach to transfers in their early days at Lausanne, Rapp remains the third most-expensive signing in the club's history following his arrival in January 2018.

The striker only lasted a year before being loaned out, and after a subsequent spell away he was allowed to leave on a free transfer in 2021 having made just 28 appearances.