Ruben Amorim's side's pursuit of Bryan Mbeumo and his fast-rising price has brought back memories of the club being taken for a ride in negotiations

Manchester United have endured a frustrating transfer window as they struggle to further boost their squad so they can make amends for their worst season in 51 years. While rivals Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City have pulled off several eye-catching signings each, United had, through the first six weeks of the window, only brought in Matheus Cunha after paying the Brazilian's £62.5 million ($85m) release clause to prise him from Wolves.

The Red Devils' next target was Bryan Mbeumo, but landing the Cameroon forward, who scored 20 Premier League goals last season for Brentford, proved much more difficult. Despite the fact that Mbeumo had only one year left on his contract with the Bees, United had two bids, of £55m and £62.5m, rejected before finally agreeing a deal that could see them pay as much as £71m ($96m) for the soon-to-be 26-year-old.

United's pursuit of Mbeumo and the rising fee has led to the mention of the dreaded 'United tax', a term that former chief executive Ed Woodward reportedly came up with in conversations with colleagues in which he lamented how the Red Devils always had to pay more for targets than their competitors. Woodward's successor, John Murtough, also believed the club was often forced to pay over the odds for players.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has talked a lot about United's need to do smarter business in the transfer market as he tries to improve the club's financial situation, as has new chief executive Omar Berrada, who had a reputation for being a shrewd operator when running Manchester City's transfer dealings. But the club's latest struggles to sign players without being able to pay buy-out clauses has only added more weight to the idea of the United tax.

GOAL runs through the most obvious examples of United over-paying for transfer targets in the 12 years since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club…

AFPHarry Maguire – £80m

Jose Mourinho was keen to make Harry Maguire a United player after he rose to fame at the 2018 World Cup, but the manager told the club not to pay more than £50m for him. Leicester City were, however, asking for a minimum of £60m, so the deal was a non-starter.

Despite that, after Mourinho had been replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United made another enquiry about Maguire the following summer after they learned that Manchester City had entered the race. The two rival clubs bidding for the same player strengthened the Foxes' negotiating position and the price kept on rising and rising, all the way to £80m.

That put City off, but United remained interested and got the deal done in August 2019, making Maguire the most expensive defender in the world. While Maguire is still at Old Trafford six years on and has fought his way back from several dark periods, he still has never come close to justifying the huge amount of money United invested in him.

AdvertisementGetty Casemiro – £70m

Casemiro was, on one level, an exciting signing for United given the winning pedigree he developed at Real Madrid, but the Spanish aristocrats made sure they made as much money as they could when they entered negotiations with the Red Devils in August 2022.

United had lost their first two games of the season against Brighton and Brentford, putting new boss Erik ten Hag under huge pressure immediately. Madrid could sense United's desperation and charged them £60m plus £10m in add-ons for a player who had turned 30 six months earlier. Casemiro's representatives also earned a windfall as the Brazilian was quickly made United's second-highest earner after Cristiano Ronaldo, signing a four-year contract worth a reported £350,000 per week.

Ratcliffe was apparently outraged when he learned of the scale of the transaction soon after purchasing his stake in the club, and who could blame him? Casemiro had an excellent debut season but floundered in his next two campaigns as he struggled to cope with the Premier League's intensity. His colossal salary has made him very hard to shift, even on loan, and he looks set to see out his contract in full.

Getty Fred – £47m

Long before he had even declared his interest in buying a stake in United, Ratcliffe was giving eye-catching interviews criticising the way the club had been run. In one sit-down with, he took aim at the club's wastefulness in the transfer market and was happy to name names as he declared: "They have been the dumb money, which you see with players like Fred."

Fred was another player who City were also interested in, but they turned away from a potential deal due his soaring price, which rose all the way to £47m. Mourinho, by contrast, greenlit the deal, and the Brazilian embarked on a long and disappointing five-year stay at Old Trafford. He became something of a running joke, particularly for the underwhelming midfield partnership he formed with Scott McTominay.

AFPAntony – £85m

After an impressive start in which he scored in each of his first three games, Antony's dire form for United saw him become the butt of many, many jokes. And all with the same punchline: this guy cost the club £85m! The Brazilian felt over-priced from the moment he arrived as United's second-most expensive signing after Paul Pogba. He had done well at Ajax, but his numbers were hardly world beating and the consensus was that the Dutch giants had produced a masterstroke in selling him for such a high fee.

Ajax's then-CEO, former United 'keeper Edwin van der Sar, was very happy to admit as much, telling "We would have liked to keep him here one year longer. There was not a dire need to sell him, we had money in the bank. But the fee got so high. We challenged United to go as far as possible."