The star-studded midfield and attack Manchester United could have signed

Manchester United have spent over £400million since Erik ten Hag replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the dugout in an attempt to bridge the gap on their treble-winning neighbours Manchester City.

As things stand, that staggering outlay has enabled United to return to the Champions League and, also, end their six-year trophy hoodoo. However, the big prizes are what United really have their eye on.

Ten Hag and his recruitment team could justify their initial spending as a levelling-up project, given what Solskjaer had left behind after his sacking. But had the Norwegian got his own way in the market, Old Trafford would already be home to a star-studded squad comparable to City's.

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In an interview with The Athletic, Solskjaer confirmed he wanted to sign Moises Caicedo, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane at various stages during his tenure. Of course, there may have been some positional clashes, but that is a jaw-dropping prospect.

Solskjaer said: "The expectations are very high, but we can't live in the same era as when I played. We had Arsenal and Chelsea as rivals towards the end, now most teams have money or, even if they don't, they don't need to sell."

He went on to explain why proposed deals for the quintet did not go through. Ifs buts and maybes, but if allowing themselves to dream United could have put together an unstoppable midfield and attacking roster under Solskjaer and, in turn, more recent spending would not have needed to be so excessive.

At the time Solskjaer wanted them, Caicedo and Rice would, quite simply, not have broken the £100million barrier like they did