The recent summer transfer window saw Manchester United end their search for a new number nine, with the Red Devils forking out roughly £72m in order to prise Danish sensation Rasmus Hojlund from Serie A side, Atalanta.
With manager Erik ten Hag having been forced to muddle through with Anthony Martial and Wout Weghorst as his senior centre-forward options last term – following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo – the hope will be that young Hojlund can hit the ground running following his return from international duty.
In truth, the Red Devils have been crying out for a long-term solution in that number nine berth for a number of years, having too often sought out a short-term fix with the signings of the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and that man, Ronaldo.
Ever since Robin van Persie powered Sir Alex Ferguson and co to the Premier League title in 2012/13 with 26 top-flight goals, Old Trafford has been crying out for a prolific presence to lead the line in the hope of reviving those prior glory years.
In the case of Hojlund, the 20-year-old will need to avoid suffering a similar fate to that of United's last big-money centre-forward signing – Romelu Lukaku – with the Belgian hitman having underwhelmed both during his time in Manchester and since.
How much did Manchester United pay for Lukaku?
The towering marksman had first caught the eye of Premier League audiences after scoring 17 league goals during his season-long loan stint with West Bromwich Albion in 2012/13, memorably bagging a hat-trick to spoil Ferguson's farewell game in the 5-5 thriller at the Hawthorns on the final day of that campaign.
That was followed by a haul of 15 league goals while on loan at Everton the year after, with the former Anderlecht man subsequently scoring 87 goals in total for the Toffees after signing on a permanent deal in 2014.
Having seemingly seen enough to be impressed by the 6 foot 3 powerhouse over the previous five years or so, then-United boss Jose Mourinho – who had coached Lukaku at Stamford Bridge in the past – was keen on a reunion with his former asset at the Theatre of Dreams in the summer of 2017.
As it proved, the Red Devils willingly coughed up £75m in order to sign the Antwerp-born goal machine, with two goals on his league debut for the club appearing to suggest that it had been money well spent as far as Mourinho and co were concerned…
What went wrong for Lukaku at Man United?
While unable to have quite the impact that was expected, it was hardly a dismal debut season at United for Lukaku as he scored 27 goals and provided nine assists in 51 games in all competitions, with Ten Hag likely to count himself lucky if Hojlund can get anywhere close to such a tally.
That being said, however, the polarising figure would go on to net just a further 15 times in the following season as his form swiftly tumbled, with journalist Samuel Luckhurst stating at the time that the striker had been partly responsible for Mourinho's subsequent sacking due to his "woeful and costly finishing".
The misfiring asset wasn't only something of a liability in front of goal, however, with former title winner Lee Sharpe particularly critical at the time of the forward's hold-up play, stating: "I've never seen a centre forward with such a bad touch.
“If your centre forward can't hold the ball up, it makes it a very hard game".
While Luckhurst predicted that the marksman would "doubtless benefit from being coached by [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer", his face didn't fit as far as the Norwegian was concerned, with the treble winner favouring a more fluid forward line in the second half of the 2018/19 campaign, involving the likes of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.
Alexis Sanchez
£350k
Paul Pogba
£290k
David De Gea
£200k
Romelu Lukaku
£180k
Juan Mata
£160k
Luke Shaw
£150k
Fred
£120k
Ashley Young
£120k
Nemanja Matic
£120k
Ander Herrera
£115k
Stats via Capology
That decline had partly been impacted by Lukaku's own admission that had "bulked up too much" following the 2018 World Cup, with club legend Gary Neville subsequently stating that the departing forward was "overweight", amid his impending move to Inter Milan in 2019.
How much did Man United sell Lukaku for?
To United's credit, a club that has typically been rather poor with regard to selling players – after leading the way in Europe over the last decade due to their negative net spend – managed to recoup almost all of their initial investment in Lukaku, after moving him on to Italy for £74m.
That sale proved a blessing for both parties as Belgium's record scorer rediscovered his scoring touch at San Siro, firing in 47 league goals combined across the next two seasons, while enjoying Scudetto success with Antonio Conte's side in 2020/21.
Such a golden period of consistency attracted the attention of clubs back in the Premier League – despite his mixed fortunes at United – with former employers Chelsea coughing up a mammoth £97.5m in order to prise Lukaku in the summer of 2021.
How much is Lukaku worth now?
The Blues must be kicking themselves to have invested so heavily in the £325k-per-week man only to have seen it blow up in their face, with the 109-cap international lasting just one season back in England before returning to Inter on loan last summer.
That reunion with the Italian giants did not prove a happy one, however, as Lukaku scored just 15 goals in all competitions last season after slipping behind Edin Dzeko in the attacking pecking order, with the 30-year-old subsequently souring his relations with the Nerazzurri after reportedly negotiating a move to rivals Juventus in the recent window.
Now back under the watchful eye of Mourinho at AS Roma, the Belgian's stock has fallen to such an extent that he is now said to be worth just €30m (£25m), according to CIES Football Observatory, with that £49m less than what Solskjaer and co sold him for just four years ago.
That would suggest that while it hasn't been said often in the post-Ferguson era at United, the club did hit the jackpot by managing to move on Lukaku so quickly and without taking a major financial hit – with the less said about his time at Old Trafford, the better.