If Erik ten Hag is to replicate the feats of his most famous Manchester United predecessor, it will be predicated on success in the transfer market.
Perhaps better than any other manager in history, Sir Alex Ferguson knew how to continually evolve and improve, with a transfer track record to rival anyones. But after the historic dominance under Ferguson’s stewardship, United have been in a state of perpetual decline since his departure.
Ten Hag arrived with the warning of Ralf Rangnick ringing in his ears. The Austrian had only spent six months at Old Trafford when he assessed the Red Devils were six years behind the likes of Liverpool.
That pessimistic view had come under question thanks to Ten Hag and what he had got out of his expensively assembled squad. But any notion that the gap had been bridged was emphatically wiped away after the 7-0 humbling at Anfield.
It was a stern reality check for all involved that Ten Hag will need to keep improving his playing squad with quality additions. The Dutchman has held chats with Ferguson in recent times, relishing the looming presence he still holds inside a stadium which adorns his name.
But Fergie didn’t go three decades in the dugout without his fair share of misses. For every Cristiano Ronaldo, there was a Bebe, for every Peter Schmeichel, a Massimo Taibi and for every Roy Keane, a Gabriel Obertan.
And so Ten Hag shouldn’t be too disheartened if all of his transfers aren’t spectacular success stories. However, he will be hoping that the narrative surrounding at least one of his acquisitions can turn around fairly quickly.
Wout Weghorst may have been one of the more low-profile signings of the Ten Hag era, but it was arguably the one to draw the most ire. After all, his arrival came less than a year after he failed to keep Burnley in the Premier League, scoring just twice in 20 games.
The counter argument is that the loanee was always a stop gap until the need for a central striker can be properly addressed in the summer. But such has been his rocky start to life in Manchester, he has already been labelled the club’s worst ever player.
In Weghorst’s defence, the claim was levelled by Richard Keys, a personality clinging onto any semblance of relevance in the modern game. On this occasion though, his view will be shared by many others.
"It's [Ten Hag's] decision to keep playing Wout Weghorst,” Keys wrote in his unmissable, weekly online blog. "It's not Weghorst's fault, but he has to be the worst player I've ever seen in a United jersey.
"He's a bang ordinary number nine, couldn't get in a struggling Burnley team, but what on earth possesses Seven Hag to think he's a sumptuous 10? One who can wear the 'tuxedo' as the Americans say.
"Come on. It's a joke and the manager has got to give up pretending Weghorst has something to offer. He's not a 'pressing monster'. He doesn't 'make runs' because he can't run. And he doesn't score goals.”
There’s still time for Weghorst to change that perception and for him to be fairly ranked in the pantheon of transfer flops. Ferguson’s mistakes are already penned into the history books however and his own verdict on his big regrets may come as somewhat of a surprise.
In recalling his “most disappointing signing, he pointed back to a player who ended his stint at the club with a Premier League title AND Champions League crown in Owen Hargreaves.
“I look back less fondly on our move for Owen Hargreaves, who was phenomenal in the summer of 2006 and was just the type of player we needed to fill the gap left by Keane,” he explained in a subsequent autobiography.
“We started to put together a bid for him. But I studied his playing record and felt a tinge of doubt. I didn’t feel a strong vibe about him. David Gill worked hard on the deal with Bayern.
“I met Owen’s agent at the World Cup final in Berlin. Nice man, a lawyer. I told him we could develop Hargreaves at United. It turned out to be a disaster. Owen had no confidence in himself whatsoever.
“He didn’t show nearly enough determination to overcome his physical difficulties, for my liking. I saw him opt for the easy choice too often in terms of training. He was one of the most disappointing signings of my career.”
Hargreaves’ £17million transfer ended with 39 appearances across four injury-ravaged seasons. Ralph Milne managed even fewer than that, signing for £170,000 in 1988 and making just 30 appearances.
At a League Managers’ Association meeting in 2009, Fergie was asked about his worst ever signing: "Ralph Milne. I only paid £170,000 but I still get condemned for it."
And there are certain similarities between Milne and Weghorst all these years later. Like Weghorst, the chance for Milne to join Manchester United was simply too good to turn down, regardless of the scrutiny which would follow.
“You could have put any number on there and I would have signed it. I would have swept the terraces,” he told the Guardian in 2009. ''I would have played in goal. Nobody says no to Manchester United."
