Every club makes a mistake or two in the transfer market and Manchester United are no different, but recent developments suggest they haven’t learned from their past error.
The transfer windows under Erik ten Hag will go down in Man Utd history as the ones that set the club back many years.
From extravagant transfer fees for underachievers to ill-advised sales of players who would walk into the first XI of the Man Utd squad today, those windows are full of mistakes.
One of the biggest ones happened in 2023, which has caused a £47m problem for the club today. The worrying thing is that Ineos could be set to repeat it in 2025.
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Man Utd’s £47m mistake in 2023
The first transfer window under Erik ten Hag saw record sums spent on the likes of Antony and Casemiro, but it returned at least some semi-successful players, like Lisandro Martinez.
However, the 2023/24 window remains an unmitigated disaster with the signings of Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund, and Andre Onana.
All three have their future under the scanner today after not impressing at all for various reasons, but the hurt will be more with the last of those three.
Andre Onana was bought from Inter for nearly £47m in a move that was expected to revolutionise United’s buildup play.
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Today, Onana is linked with an exit, but his purchase hurts the most because even in 2023, when he was bought, United had a better alternative already at the club.
Dean Henderson was sold to Crystal Palace for about £20m, and he was highly-rated then; and he is a better player than Onana in 2025.
United chose to spend on a solution outside, which compromised their transfer budget, instead of choosing the long-term academy option at home.
Every mistake by Onana and every talismanic performance by Henderson now adds to the hurt, but Ineos could be set to repeat it with their stance over a star loanee this summer.
Radek Vitek sale will be Dean Henderson 2.0
Onana is on the chopping block this summer, and he’s garnering interest from Monaco, among others.
Man Utd fans won’t be sad to see the back of the Cameroonian after a disastrous season but that is where the optimism ends.
Once again, United have a potentially long-term better option in the academy in the form of Radek Vitek, who shone at BW Linz on loan this season.
Once again, Vitek is up for sale, while United roam around the continent for unconvincing and unproven options like Vanja Milinkovic-Savic or Marco Carnesecchi.
Vitek was the star of the 2024 pre-season and has now proven himself on consecutive loans, while his 6’6″ frame and combination of shot-stopping and ball-playing abilities make him the perfect modern goalkeeper.
The cycle is repeating itself. United are refusing to give a proper chance to an academy player who has impressed at every stage of his short career so far.
They are open to spending another £40m or so to replace a player who shouldn’t have been signed to begin with, while Dean Henderson 2.0 sits on the sidelines.
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. United haven’t learned.