In the eyes of many, Manchester United are the biggest club in England, yet some of their recent transfer dealings oppose that school of thought.
The Red Devils should be able to attract some of the biggest names in world football, so there is a sense of confusion among some sections of United's global fanbase as to why the club persist with short-term, stop-gap signings which in truth do little more than paper over some pretty glaring cracks.
Take the latest rumour for example, with Cristiano Ronaldo having departed under a cloud, manager Erik ten Hag is on the prowl for a new striker to bolster United's forward line. It comes as quite the shock to read Wout Weghorst, a forward who couldn't really make the grade at Burnley, is now expected to be unveiled as the latest addition at Old Trafford.
It would only be a loan move for the 30-year-old, who netted just two goals during his single season at Turf Moor. Weghorst currently plies his trade at Besiktas and has fared better in Turkey, where he has bagged eight league goals in 16 appearances.
With that in mind, Mirror Football has taken a look at some of United's past short-term solution signings and analysed how they fared.
Radamel Falcao
United had high hopes for Falcao when they lured the Colombian from Monaco on loan for the 2014/15 season in a deal that saw the Red Devils pay £6m in loan fee and enjoy the option of making the switch permanent to the tune of £43.5m come the end of the campaign.
Consdering Falcao was dropped for teenager James Wilson on two occasions, before then-manager Louis van Gaal publicly declared he had no regrets about the decision, it was far from a successful stint.
Falcao's lowest moment undeniably came when Van Gaal forced Falcao to play for the club's Under-21 side - in which he was substituted just after the hour mark. The situation prompted the late Diego Maradona to claim the Dutchman was "was closer to the devil than anything."
Needless to say, United had no interest in activating the option to keep the forward on a permanent basis.
Victor Valdes
Valdes was never meant to end up at United. Months before his contract with Barcelona expires, the goalkeeper had reached an agreement to join Monaco once his time at the Camp Nou was up.
However, a knee injury meant Monaco pulled out of the deal. United offered Valdes a place complete his rehabilitation and regain his fitness, before he signed an 18-month contract at Old Trafford.
Despite the fact he was only ever meant to deputise for David de Gea, things with Valdes still went sour after the Spaniard allegedly refused to feature in a reserve game and as a result manager Van Gaal publicly announced the shot-stopper would be placed on the transfer list.
Valdes was not given a squad number for the following season and eventually joined Belgian side Standard Liege on loan a year after signing for United.
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Purchased from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2015 for £6.5m, Schweinsteiger enjoyed a bright enough start to his United career but the arrival of Jose Mourinho as boss sparked the beginning of the German's demise.
Mourinho quickly demoted the experienced midfielder and banished him to train with the under-23's in a move that prompted plenty of backlash.
Many of the senior figures within United's dressing room at the time were thought to be appalled with the treatment Schweinsteiger was subjected to.
The World Cup winner actually went a full year without starting for the club, such was the level of his exile under Mourinho.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Certainly the only name on this list that can go down as a successful signing, Ibrahimovic was initially signed on a one-year deal with the option to extend after arriving as a free agent.
It is a testament to how well the legendary Sweden international performed that United had little doubt over whether they were going to activate that option.
The veteran striker became the oldest player in Premier League history to net 15 goals in a league campaign during his debut season at the club and helped United lift the League Cup and the 2017 Europa League - their last piece of silverware.
Odion Ighalo
Igahlo's arrival was greeted with raised eyebrows, despite his impressive form while in the Premier League with Watford.
Such was Ighalo's desperation to force through the move, he openly admitted he had taken a paycut from the wages he was on at Shanghai Shenhua.
Having joined before the Covid-19 pandemic, Ighalo's first loan was set to end in May 2020 before the Red Devils confirmed they had extended his stay until January of the following year.
While he netted a couple of Europa League goals, Igahlo failed to make the desired impact.
