Sir Jim Ratcliffe can give Erik ten Hag the thing he needs most at Manchester United

When Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher ranked every major Manchester United signing since Alex Ferguson's exit on Monday Night Football, only two out of 33 - Bruno Fernandes and Zlatan Ibrahimovic - were described as successful and good value for money.

Neville said it is a "horror story from a recruitment point of view". It was a scathing indictment of United’s recent transfer business, and it is hard to argue with his assertion that United’s transfer strategy over the past decade has been a profound failure.

Throughout that period the Reds have had multiple managers and yet they have never come seriously close to challenging for the Premier League or Champions League.

ALSO READ: United dodged the answer to burning transfer question

ALSO READ: United starlet Mainoo did what Ronaldo did at Liverpool

A transfer approach that has been blighted by short-termism, overreliance on managers, inability to negotiate, desperation, and ultimately a lack of planning has played an intrinsic role in the failure at Old Trafford.

United’s strategy has far too often focused on the desires of the man stuck in the hot seat. Erik ten Hag has a clear preference for players with Eredivisie pedigree. So far this has included Andre Onana, Sofyan Amrabt, Christian Eriksen, Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez and Antony.

Ten Hag’s men have been unable to rediscover their best form under his guidance this season. Ironically, the best-performing Premier League star this season who has previously worked with Ten Hag has been Mohammed Kudus at West Ham.

Ten Hag’s power with transfers could be seen as the United hierarchy attempting to avoid the errors that befell one of his predecessors. Jose Mourinho was furious in the 2018 summer window to have