When Sir Alex Ferguson stepped off as the manager of Manchester United, the club was struggling to get back into its former glory, but after several years of changing tactics and managers, United may be on a brink of winning a title with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
In the 2020/2021 season, the club had a fantastic run as it finished second on the PL table, right before their city rivals Manchester City. As the new season unfolds, Ole has managed to bring a few players to the club and thus, increase the chances of lifting the PL trophy.
Speaking of bringing players to the club, we wanted to take a trip down memory lane and look at the most expensive signings by Manchester United. Let’s check them out.
Jadon Sancho
The one interesting fact about Jadon Sancho was that everyone was aware that he will be leaving Dortmund. Since he’s a talented youngster, all of the top teams in the world, including Manchester United were interested in purchasing him.
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The debate on who will sign him went so far that online sportsbooks even opened betting odds on his next destination. Punters registered at reputable sites such as novibet.co.uk, and they were casting their predictions in.
What’s even better is the fact that online sportsbooks, like the one we just mentioned, have massive sports coverage and since they are superior to land-based sportsbooks, punters decided to stay there and continue placing bets online.
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After numerous speculations and rumours circulating, Jaden Sancho signed for Manchester United on July 23, 2021, for a price of £76.5 million, making him the third most expensive player in the club’s history.
Harry Maguire
Next up, we have a player that many consider to be the best English defender in the Premier League. Although Maguire’s form varied, in the last season, he managed to show some stability and reminded everyone that he is a solid player that has tons of qualities.
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After the Euro 2020, many fans praised him for his contributions, which is why they expect Maguire to continue working hard and help Manchester United finally win the PL title. He was purchased from Leicester on August 9, 2019, for a price of £78.3 million.
Paul Pogba
The most expensive player in Manchester United’s history is actually coming from the club’s youth academy. Pogba failed to live up to the expectations at his young age, which is why he joined Juventus as a free agent.
During his time with the Old Lady, he reinvented himself and was praised for his adaptability, control, shot power, etc. That is why United was keen on bringing him back – the club thought that he may be the missing link in the squad. So, United ended up purchasing him for a whopping price of £94.5 million on August 9, 2016.
Honourable Mentions
Other expensive players that United purchased and are worth a mention are Romelu Lukaku (£76.23 million), Angel Di Maria (£67.5 million), Bruno Fernandes (£56.7 million) and Anthony Martial (£54 million).
Sport
Man City Women put an end to Chelsea’s unbeaten run as they take Champions League lead
Danny Jones
Manchester City Women have taken a crucial lead in the Champions League quarter-final after making it past Chelsea to finally end their lengthy unbeaten run.
The Blues took on the WSL leaders for the second time amidst a series of four consecutive meetings across all competitions this month, having only just lost to Sonia Bompastor’s side in the League Cup Final this past weekend.
Missing out on the trophy could have seen City dip their heads but returning interim head coach Nick Cushing made sure that his team responded by bouncing back.
Now taking a 2-0 lead into the second leg of the quarters, there is still the chance of winning silverware this season – though there is definitely still work to be done.
Man City Women managed to end the East Londoners’ winning streak thanks to a brace from substitute Vivianne Miedema, who came on in the second half and managed to open the scoring by sniffing out a rebound off the bar just before the hour mark.
The turn and cross in from Mary Fowler – a shining light in City’s season thus far who created plenty of big chances and nearly grabbed another assist – was sublime but the instinct to swallow up the loose ball proved to be crucial in giving the home team the edge all night.
In truth, the initial header from Laia Aleixandri was strong and kept out by an impressive save, but Miedema’s willingness to cover great ground meant she was in the right place at the right time.
You could say it was a similar story for her second.
Notching her second of the night and 31st goal overall in just 35 UWCL games, a simple side-step to change lanes as she ran into the box
✨ MAGIC MIEDEMA
She let's the ball to the work and then places it beautifully to double Manchester City's lead!
Speaking after the match, the 28-year-old forward said the result is “a massive confidence boost for us going into the next two [fixtures against Chelsea]”, insisting that the fight shown in the first half half game them the belief to say “we can actually win today.”
As for Cushing, he told the club’s media shortly afterwards: “I was confident if she got chances, she’d score, we just have to create those moments for her. Tonight, we saw many and she thinks she should’ve had a hat-trick!”
City Women play Chelsea for a third time this weekend, once again hosting them at the Joie Stadium only this time in the league, before playing that decisive second leg down in the capital next Thursday, 27 March. Will a two-goal advantage be enough? We’ll have to wait and see.
Sir Gareth Southgate says young men ‘need better role models’ – and more of them
Danny Jones
Ex-footballer and England manager Sir Gareth Southgate has called on contemporary society to do better when it comes to young men, insisting that boys today need real role models.
In fact, not to put words in his mouth, but he isn’t just calling out for more of them; more precisely, he believes they need better ones than some of the figures who have found a following in recent years.
Speaking in one of his first public addresses since being knighted in the 2025 New Year’s Honours list and one of a scarce few since stepping down as the Three Lions boss, Southgate gave a lengthy speech as part of the BBC’s annual ‘Richard Dimbleby Lecture’.
The former Crystal Palace, Middlesborough and Aston Villa defender touched on a number of topics in his discussion, including the troubling rise of “callous, manipulative and toxic influencers, whose sole drive is for their own gain” and are finding increasing popularity on social media.
Southgate has strong opinions on the current archetype of ‘role models’ that young men are gravitating towards.
Southgate went on to express the crucial nature of “identity, connection and culture” in contemporary society, insisting that current values are drifting off course.
He went on to state that because of the swirling questions surrounding masculinity, “young men end up withdrawing, reluctant to talk or express their emotions […] They spend more time online searching for direction and are falling into unhealthy alternatives like gaming, gambling and pornography.”
Southgate also believes that “if we make life too easy for young boys now, we will inevitably make life harder when they grow up to be young men”, arguing that we are at risk of creating a culture where they fear failure so much that “they fail to try, rather than try and fail.”
Drawing from his own experience as a player and his famous penalty miss in Euro ’96, as well as his multiple attempts at winning a major tournament as the national team coach, he reflected on how these experiences made him who he is today – experiences he navigated through thanks to role models.
Put more simply, he suggested that we need to return focus to the importance of teachers, sports coaches, youth groups and ‘proper’/traditional role models, rather than simply allowing the next generation of young men to resort to poor examples online.
"We have to show young men that character is more important than status."
Gareth Southgate demands leaders step up to become positive role models for 'isolated' young men. pic.twitter.com/FMlnqjppQi
The timing of Southgate’s speech hasn’t been lost on large swathes of the British public, in particular, in light of the hit Netflix drama, Adolescence.
Revolving around the story of a young boy accused of a violent crime towards a young girl, the four-part series touches on incel culture, the growing ‘manosphere’ digital community, controversial figures like Andrew Tate and more.
You can listen to Southgate’s lecture on young men and the importance of role models in full HERE.
The Manc -
20th August 2021 
