Manchester United’s wage bill has often been a contentious talking point over the last few years, as had the club’s transfer business in general, truth be told.
Erik ten Hag hasn’t got an awful lot right during his time at Old Trafford and a lot of the problem stems from a lack of successful signings.
Antony for £82m, you say? Joshua Zirkzee for nearly £40m? While Antony has endured a nightmare stint in English football to date, it is perhaps a little too early to judge the Dutch striker quite yet.
While Zirkzee earns a pretty penny (£105k-p/w) it’s still not nearly as much as the Brazilian winger who takes home £200k-per-week.
While he has done very little to justify that salary – scoring just one Premier League goal last season – fellow winger Alejandro Garnacho who earns £150k-per-week less, certainly has earned his marbles.
Garnacho's season in numbers
That overhead kick last season, oh how good was that overhead kick? Seriously – it’s one of the best Premier League goals we’ve seen.
It was a landmark moment for the Argentine who has only gone from strength to strength since.
Arguably, no player in Ten Hag’s frontline was more consistent than Garnacho last term as he scored ten goals and supplied five assists in 50 matches.
He has started the new campaign in form as well, scoring five and registering three assists throughout the opening couple of months.
The 20-year-old is one of the best young attackers in the Premier League and his latest goal in the 2-1 win over Brentford on Saturday proved as much.
Marcus Rashford looped the ball towards the back post where Garnacho rushed onto it and fired home a lovely cushioned volley into the far corner. It was incredible technique and it was a sublime finish.
His progression has been impressive and it’s because of him that a certain Jadon Sancho ended up being cast aside. Like Antony, he certainly didn’t deserve the huge sum of cash he took home on a weekly basis.
How much Sancho cost Man Utd
While Garnacho has delivered some exquisite performances under the current manager, the same cannot be said for fellow winger, Sancho.
Signed for a sizeable £73m transfer fee from Borussia Dortmund in 2021, this was a coup. It was a Sir Alex Ferguson-type deal. Who is the best young English talent? Sancho, of course, let’s go and get him.
Well, unfortunately, one of the most sought-after names in European football did not deliver once he arrived at Old Trafford.
Things started out rough for the England international under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and they did not get much better. It took him ten league games to break his goalscoring duck and then ended his debut term with just five goals to his name.
In all, Sancho only found the net on 12 occasions in 83 games for United. He also only registered six assists, a far cry from the creative genius we saw at Dortmund. Disagreements with the manager even led to him being alienated from the club midway through the 2023/24 campaign.
“We spoke well. Anyone can make a mistake. If the player reflects well on that, then draw a line and continue again.” – Ten Hag on Sancho in pre-season.
As a result, the 24-year-old was sent out on loan. The Englishman did enjoy a mini-revival back in Germany last season – reaching the Champions League final – but it was not enough for him to weave his way back into Ten Hag’s plans.
By that point, he had cost a remarkable £109m when taking into account his transfer fee plus annual salary over three years.
Games
83
Goals
12
Assists
6
Transfer fee
£73m
Weekly salary
£250k
Annual salary
£13m
Total cost
£109m
Cost per goal
£9m
Cost per assist
£18.1m
Cost per game
£1.3m
During his first two campaigns in the north west, Sancho earned £250k-per-week, far more than the aforementioned Garnacho, before £3m of his £13m annual salary was paid for by Dortmund in the back end of last season.
Now, the winger plies his trade at Chelsea but he is still technically a Man United player until the loan becomes an official permanent transfer next summer.
For such a game-changing player when on form, this was a remarkable waste of money for United. You’d like to hope they have learnt their lesson.
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2 ByStephan GeorgiouOct 28, 2024