REUTERS/Phil Noble
This expensively assembled squad continues to underwhelm at Manchester United, but after so much managerial change in recent years, should anyone really be surprised?
Look to the backline that started against Fulham at the weekend, that five-man unit all signed by different managers, all of whom, Senne Lammens aside, have arguably outstayed their welcome.
It's a mish-mash group of players, with there having been no sense of consistency or continuity at Old Trafford for so long now.
Man Utd XI vs Fulham by which manager signed them
Recruitment, time and again, has been the root cause of all United's woes, none more so than during Erik ten Hag's time in charge of the club.
Why Man Utd are still paying the price for Ten Hag's recruitment
In terms of post-Sir Alex Ferguson managers, Ten Hag does at least compare favourably in terms of silverware, winning the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, while also proving the man responsible for handing Kobbie Mainoo his big break in the first team.
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The Dutchman, it's fair to say, wasn't a total disaster in the dugout, but the recruitment carried out under his watch looks even more shambolic with each passing year.
Indeed, while those above him may have pulled the trigger, Ten Hag's fingerprints were all over his signings, not least amid the string of Dutch or Eredivisie-based players who rocked up in Manchester.
Looking back to 2022, the signing of Casemiro did bear fruit in the end, although United took a £60m or so loss on Antony, while Lisandro Martinez, as the weekend showcased, is still prone to error or injury over four years on.
The following year, almost every signing made backfired, with Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir looking hapless in the sticks, Mason Mount riddled with injury and Rasmus Hojlund failing to fire amid a forgettable second season. Who can forget Sofyan Amrabat too, of course.
INEOS were far more in control by the time 2024 rolled around, although again there was a clear link to Ten Hag, signing his former Ajax pairing of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, alongside compatriot Joshua Zirkzee.
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To say any of those men, alongside Manuel Ugarte and Leny Yoro, have been a success would be unmerited, with so much errant spending having perhaps inhibited United in the present day.
That said, it's not as if INEOS have got it all spot on either.
Why Man Utd signing looks like he belongs in the Ten Hag era
This phased recruitment drive already looks set to blow up in United's face, with the club ready to prioritise the defence in 2027, despite not exactly solving the midfield or forward line as yet.
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick reacts after the match
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick reacts after the match
Youri Tielemans' lack of athleticism is a concern, while Andrey Santos has swiftly fallen by the wayside, ensuring Carlos Baleba is already being viewed as something of a saviour as the wait goes on to see him in action.
As for the 2025 summer arrivals, Matheus Cunha only scored his first league goal of the season at the Cottage, while Bryan Mbeumo, despite netting twice so far, has been eerily quiet on that right flank.
Manchester United co owner Jim Ratcliffe, chief executive officer Omar Berrada, technical director Jason Wilcox and football association vice chairman David Gill
The biggest concern facing Carrick and co is Benjamin Sesko, however, the Slovenian looking like another errant striker signing for the Red Devils.
It's hard to shake the feeling that United haven't simply signed one of Ten Hag's men, in the form of Hojlund, with the two forwards enduring a remarkably similar start to life in Manchester.
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In Hojlund's case, despite a flurry of goals in the Champions League, it took until Boxing Day 2023 for his first league goal to be scored, having seen his progress inhibited after sustaining a back injury in pre-season.
He then scored seven in six games, amid a stunning purple patch, yet further injury woes swiftly followed, ending 2023/24 with only ten top-flight goals to his name.
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Hojlund vs Sesko - 1st PL season
Hojlund
30
25
10
217
26%
13
0
2
1.3
6.6
The parallels are there to see with regard to Sesko, the 23-year-old signing for another bumper fee of around £66.4m, yet failing to click into gear straight away after scoring just twice in United colours in 2025.
Like Hojlund, injury had been a factor too, after hobbling off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, although he did enjoy his own purple patch at the start of 2026, reaping the rewards of Ruben Amorim's exit.
He ended that debut campaign with 12 in all competitions and 11 in the league, just one more than Hojlund, albeit while seeing his own momentum cut short by a shin injury sustained against Liverpool.
The £200k-per-week marksman subsequently missed the entirety of pre-season action as a result, and while he has since scored against Everton and Sabah, he potentially faces another spell on the sidelines.
Like Hojlund, who missed the first four league games of 2024/25 due to a hamstring injury, Sesko hasn't proven that he is robust enough to be relied upon, drifting in and out of the side so regularly.
Like the Dane too, his all-around game still seemingly needs plenty of work, the former RB Leipzig man drawing the ire of the home crowd time and again against Brighton and Hove Albion last week due to his inability to retain possession, notably losing the ball in the build-up to the Seagulls' first of the night.
The problem, as Hojlund faced under both Ten Hag and Amorim, is the lack of a genuine alternative to Sesko in those centre-forward ranks, with the pressure on him to deliver immediately and consistently, despite his relative youth.
Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Quite why Jason Wilcox and co didn't sign another striker this summer really is head-scratching, even while retaining Zirkzee, with that decision looking even more errant amid Sesko's ongoing injury concerns.
By his own admission, Hojlund subsequently suggested, following his move to Napoli, that he needed help in that regard at Old Trafford, having almost been hung out to dry in some sense.
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It feels very similar in Sesko's case, with it already looking like United will need to move on from him before too long, amid the stop-start nature of his time in England.
Wilcox, and the recruitment team, have been so intent on trying not to replicate the mistakes of the past, but the signing of the new Hojlund looks like one that belongs in the Ten Hag era on current evidence.