Man Utd must regret selling sensational ace who’s outscoring Rashford & Tel

Manchester United have struggled within the transfer market in recent years, with numerous of their big-money additions failing to impress at Old Trafford.

Paul Pogba is arguably one of the biggest examples of such a feat, costing a club-record £89m back in the summer of 2016, before departing numerous years later on a free transfer.

New boss Ruben Amorim has been tasked with putting an end to such business, potentially looking to transform their fortunes on and off the pitch and lead them back to Premier League glory.

It will undoubtedly be a long process given the amount of deadwood currently on the books, with the 40-year-old needing to offload various players to aid his ambitions at the Theatre of Dreams.

He’s already made a start by signing Patrick Dorgu in his first window at the helm, with various other players either moving to or away from the club to improve the current league standing.

Man Utd’s transfer activity in January

Marcus Rashford has been a United player for the entirety of his professional career, but found game time virtually impossible after Amorim’s appointment, being frozen out of the first-team squad by the former Sporting boss.

He started the first two league outings of his reign, registering three goals, but it quickly became apparent that he wouldn’t be utilised by the Portuguese boss, leaving his career at his boyhood side in the balance.

He subsequently joined fellow Premier League side Aston Villa on loan for the remainder of the campaign

, looking to recapture his goalscoring form after his recent period in the darkness.

As a result of his departure, Amorim targeted Bayern Munich youngster Mathys Tel as a replacement for the Englishman in the closing days of the transfer window.

However, given their reluctance to fork out his €10m (£8.3m) loan fee, he moved to divisional rivals Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day, ending any lasting hopes of landing the Frenchman.

It’s understandable that disappointment will be felt after missing out on such a talent to a fellow English side, but they may have also made a mistake in allowing a former player to leave given his goalscoring exploits in 2024/25.

Man United sold a player who’s now outscoring Rashford & Tel

Back in the summer of 2017, the Red Devils once again raised eyebrows by splashing the cash just 12 months on from the Pogba deal, forking out a deal rising up to £90m for Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku from Everton.

Whilst it was a huge price tag, it looked like a move that would transform the club’s forward department after his record of 26 goals across all competitions during his final season at Goodison Park.

It all looked to be going swimmingly during his first season in the North West, scoring 27 times during his debut campaign at the club, but he would fail to impress during his second – leading to a rapid departure despite the huge funds spent.

The Belgian still registered 15 goals, but came under fire from supporters, ultimately ending his stint in Manchester and swapping Old Trafford for the San Siro.

The Serie A giants forked out £73m for his signature, preventing a huge loss on United’s investment, but he’s since carried on his rich vein of goalscoring from away from the club – something which is of massive need in the present day.

Lukaku, who’s since returned to the Premier League with Chelsea, now plies his trade for Napoli in Italy, linking up with Antonio Conte and playing a huge role in their early season success in Italy.

The former United ace, who’s been dubbed “sensational” by journalist Charlie Parsons, has registered nine goals and six assists in his 21 outings to date, helping Conte lead the club to the top of the table.

His subsequent goalscoring tally is higher than United outcast Rashford and transfer target Tel who have both only notched seven and zero goals respectively during the current campaign – with United potentially living to regret the departure given their struggles in the final third.

Current options Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee are both enduring long droughts without finding the back of the net, further strengthening the regret in allowing Lukaku to depart.

Whilst his game might not be the easiest on the eye, it’s evident that he possesses the clinical edge which Amorim has desperately been hunting for over the last couple of months at Old Trafford.

However, after selling the Belgian, he goes down as yet another case of what could’ve been had they kept hold of him, with their loss evidently Napoli’s gain given their current league standing.