Manchester United currently have a clear sense of direction with Erik ten Hag at the helm, but rewind four years and they were in a very different place, in limbo and unsure of the way forward.
Midway through the 2018/19 season, United had Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in temporary charge of the team following the sacking of Jose Mourinho in December. They appeared to be teetering on the brink of defeat in the last-16 of the Champions League, after losing the first leg 2-0 to Paris Saint-Germain and were adrift of their rivals in the Premier League.
Solskjaer had gone some way to restoring the team unity following a miserable end to Mourinho’s reign. And even though Solskjaer’s side did produce a memorable comeback to beat PSG, they did not make it past the quarter-finals in the Champions League.
They finished sixth in the Premier League and did not make any headway in the FA Cup or League Cup. United needed a boost and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward planned to buy one in the summer transfer window of 2019.
As Mirror Football reported at the time, he had four main targets. In the end, none arrived at Old Trafford that off-season, with Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Dan James the three main signings. Here is a look back at what United could have won.
Kalidou Koulibaly
Before Maguire came Koulibaly. The Senegal centre-back had been top of United’s transfer shortlist for some time following a sustained period of performances for Napoli.
Koulibaly was regularly linked with a move to the Premier League, but was priced out of a transfer, with Napoli valuing him at £90million. United were put off by that figure, but eventually forked out £80m for Maguire from Leicester instead.
The 31-year-old stayed with Napoli until last summer, when he finally got his transfer to the Premier League, joining Chelsea for £33m. He has struggled in his debut campaign, with some high-profile mistakes marking him out as rash in his decision making.
Nikola Milenkovic
The Serbian defender, who can play centre-back and right-back, was a target of United throughout the 2018/19 season. Mourinho was a big fan and even flew out to Italy to watch Milenkovic play for Fiorentina himself.
Even after Mourinho was sacked, United maintained their interest in the January window, but a deal was never done. Then 21, Milenkovic was valued at £45m by Fiorentina, who were ready to drive a hard bargain for their young star.
Milenkovic never left Fiorentina and remains a key player for the Italian side to this day. He’s made 209 appearances for the club since joining in 2017 from Partizan Belgrade. Still only 25, his time for a big-money move could still yet come.
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Lucas Hernandez
The France international was hot property back in 2019 following a string of impressive displays for Atletico Madrid and with his national team at the successful 2018 World Cup. United were keen because he can play at left-back and centre-back, but they missed out to Bayern Munich.
The German giants signed Hernandez, who was 23 years old, for a Bundesliga record fee of €80m (£68m). He has struggled with injuries in Bavaria, but has still made 107 appearances for the club.
Hernandez is currently sidelined, having injured his cruciate ligament during the World Cup in Qatar.
Douglas Costa
The only non-defensive transfer target from the 2018/19 season. Costa had only been signed by Juventus from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2018, but United hoped they might be able to prise him away.
He did not join Solskjaer’s United, who instead moved for James from Swansea City for £15m. In truth, they may have dodged a bullet, with Costa’s career taking a downward trajectory since.
In four years with Bayern, the Brazilian winger was sent out on loan three times, to Juve, Gremio and LA Galaxy and, now 32, he eventually completed a permanent move to the MLS side.
