10 most expensive transfers in Manchester United history

#3 Romelu Lukaku – Everton to Manchester United, £75m, July 2017

It's tricky to make a judgment on Romelu Lukaku's time at Manchester United.

It’s largely difficult to make any sense whatsoever of Romelu Lukaku’s brief career at Manchester United.

Signed for a massive fee of £75m from Everton, on one hand, the Belgian striker was a big hit.

He scored 27 goals in 51 games in his first season at Old Trafford. Lukaku ended up as Manchester United’s top scorer as the club finished in second place in the Premier League.

It was their best finish since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, and Lukaku played a big part in that.

On the other hand, though, he was signed to help United put together a Premier League title challenge. And that didn’t happen in either of the seasons he spent at the club.

Lukaku debuted with a brace against West Ham and scored 10 goals in his first nine appearances for Manchester United, breaking a record held by the legendary Bobby Charlton.

However, despite being a favorite of Jose Mourinho – who bought him to the club – he quickly fell out of favor when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced the Portuguese.

The Belgian had his work rate and even his physical shape questioned by the Norwegian, despite scoring some key goals – including two Champions League strikes against Paris St. Germain.

At the end of the 2018-19 campaign, Lukaku was surprisingly sold to Inter Milan for a fee of around €80m.

He’s gone onto score 58 goals in just 84 games for the Italian side, suggesting that Manchester United may have moved him on too quickly.

---

#2 Harry Maguire – Leicester City to Manchester United, £80m, August 2019

Harry Maguire has often found his price tag difficult to live up to.

When Manchester United signed Harry Maguire from Leicester City for a fee of £80m, the England man was instantly made the most expensive defender in football history.

That price tag has at times seemed like an albatross around the center-back’s neck. However, despite plenty of criticism, Maguire has largely performed well for the Red Devils.

He helped them finish third in the Premier League in his first season at Old Trafford, not missing a single game as United conceded just 36 goals all season.

Meanwhile, the current campaign has seen Maguire recognized for his leadership abilities and named as the club’s new captain.

Once again, Maguire has been an ever-present for United. And while he’s been culpable for some major errors, most notably in the club’s 1-6 loss to Tottenham, it’s now hard to imagine the Red Devils' defense without him.

Whether the England international can ever truly live up to such a huge price tag is still a question mark. He certainly hasn’t had the same impact that Virgil van Dijk did when he arrived at Liverpool, for instance.

However, ignoring his transfer fee for a second, there’s no denying that Maguire has made Manchester United’s defense stronger.

And in that sense, he’s been a good, albeit very expensive, signing.

---

#1 Paul Pogba – Juventus to Manchester United, £89m, August 2016

Paul Pogba has divided the opinion of Manchester United fans since his 2016 return to the club.

One of the most controversial and divisive players of the modern era, countless debates and articles have been dedicated to Paul Pogba since his £89m move to Manchester United.

The fee was always going to raise some eyebrows, particularly given that Pogba initially emerged from United’s academy before moving to Juventus in 2012.

But the Frenchman had established himself as one of the world’s best midfielders during his time at Juve, winning four Scudettos with the club.

However, since returning to Old Trafford, Pogba hasn’t been able to usher in the new era of dominance that Red Devils fans hoped he would.

He’s definitely shown flashes of his massive potential at times, scoring some spectacular goals and helping United win the EFL Cup and Europa League in 2016-17.

And in 2018-19, he enjoyed his best season as a Manchester United player, scoring 16 goals in all competitions to finish as the Red Devils’ leading goalscorer.

However, he also fell out badly with Jose Mourinho – contributing to the Portuguese boss’s firing in December 2018. And at times, it’s proven hard to decipher exactly what his best role on the pitch is.

More recently, Pogba has been largely overshadowed by Bruno Fernandes, who cost just over half of the Frenchman's fee.

Whether Pogba stays at Old Trafford for the foreseeable future – or moves onto pastures new – is a question mark right now.

At this point, it’d be hard to claim he’s lived up to his price tag, but as with a number of the players on this list, he’s still got time to do so.