The word on the street is that Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is set to oversee something of a mass clearout from his playing squad this summer, with one report claiming that as many 13 players could be set for the scrap heap at the end of the season.
While no doubt keen to put his own stamp on a squad that still has remnants of the previous managerial regimes, the belief is that the former Ajax boss will need to move players on in order to bolster his transfer kitty this summer.
The problem is, however, that United have routinely been 'disappointing sellers' – as Forbes' Sam Pilger wrote back in August – with the most expensive departure during the previous summer window having been the £10m sale of Andreas Pereira to Fulham.
That inability to rake in notable fees with regard to player sales has been a consistent theme at Old Trafford over the years, with the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, in particular, having regularly seen the club forced to take losses in order to move unwanted first-team assets.
As Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst stated back in 2021, that 'unimpressive track record' was a 'symptom' of Louis van Gaal's time in charge, with the ruthless Dutchman notably moving on the likes of Wilfried Zaha (£6m), Jonny Evans (£6m) and Nani (£4.3m) – among others – for relative bargain fees.
The enigmatic coach was also culpable for one notable transfer howler that the club endured with regard to Matteo Darmian, with the Italy international having gone on to underwhelm after being signed from Torino by Van Gaal on a £12.7m deal in 2015.
Where is Matteo Darmian now?
Having been hailed as a "strong defender" with "versatlity" by Van Gaal amid his arrival in England, Darmian did go on to make 39 appearances across all fronts during his debut season at the Theatre of Dreams, albeit while failing to offer much in an attacking sense after providing just one goal involvement in that time.
That would be a theme of the full-back's spell with United as he ultimately scored just once and contributed only three assists in 92 games in all competitions, having failed to dislodge the likes of Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia.
The one-time AC Milan youth product was notably criticised by club legend Gary Neville for having looked "nervous" and "anxious" in the goalless draw with Liverpool back in October 2017, with then-boss Jose Mourinho going on to admit that he was willing to part ways with the defender at the start of the following season.
It wasn't until Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure that Darmian was finally moved on, however, with the 6 foot dud joining Serie A side Parma for a minimal fee of just £3.6m, representing a loss of £9.1m in relation to his initial cost – a drop in valuation of roughly 71%.
Another example of a player who was sold on the cheap in order to get him off the books, the experienced asset has since gone on to revive his career with a promising spell at Inter Milan, scoring twice and registering two assists in 39 appearances for the San Siro outfit this season.
Despite being set to turn 34 later this year, the ageing right-back is actually now worth even more than what he was sold for back in 2019, with CIES Football Observatory valuing him at around £9m.
That illustrates once again that the Red Devils appear to have sold the player for far too little, albeit with it seemingly having been something of a mistake in the first place to bring Darmian to the Premier League, such was his limited impact.
