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Manchester United have allowed Jadon Sancho to return to Borussia Dortmund on loan which caps a frankly disastrous and costly Old Trafford spell for both the England international and the Premier League outfit. Erik ten Hag and Sancho's relationship had deteriorated to the point where this move made sense despite the Red Devils having no guarantee that the 23-year-old will be bought at the end of it with only hope that he can be rejuvenated in the Bundesliga between now and the end of this season. Unfortunately for United, Sancho is not alone in an exit being the best solution to what has proved to be appalling business with a number of candidates from across the past five years jostling with the former Manchester City youth academy product for top spot.

We take a look at the 2019-2024 period and assess just how bad some of United's transfers have been during that five-season period.

No. 5 -- 2023-24: Mason Mount and Andre Onana

The jury is out on these two to a degree because this campaign is ongoing and both remain at the club having only just arrived last summer for a combined total of around $125 million. However, it is not going well for either player so far with the Cameroon international a walking circus act given some of his calamities between the sticks this term and the English midfielder yet to rack up meaningful minutes after an injury-hit start to life in Manchester. Onana and Mount could yet salvage their reputations between now and the end of the season but it has not started well at all for either of them and they have certainly contributed to United's struggles and overall malaise at present.

No. 4 -- 2020-21: Donny van de Beek and Alex Telles

This one was baffling given that the Netherlands international was expected to salvage his United stint once Ten Hag was appointed but it just never materialized and he has since joined Eintracht Frankfurt on loan -- his second spell away from Old Trafford since joining from Ajax. Van de Beek alone cost around $43 million which is costly enough before you factor in Alex Telles for an additional fee around the $16.5 million mark which means nearly $60 million was spent on two players who have already left the club and never really contributed much towards and on-field success seeing as there has been so little of it.

No. 3 -- 2019-20: Harry Maguire and Dan James

Another costly window for United was back in 2019-20 when both the England and Wales internationals were brought to the club. Maguire has had his moments and made it to the captaincy before having that stripped by Ten Hag while James never really made a strong impression and is now on loan at Fulham having been relegated with Leeds United. Together, these two set the Red Devils back around $115 million with little to justify that outlay given Maguire's deterioration until a rally earlier this season. Thankfully for these two, though, it is not even in the top two of the worst pieces of business done by United in recent years thanks to a few other high profile flops.

No. 2 -- 2022-23: Antony and Wout Weghorst

As part of a double swoop on Ajax worth upwards of $160 million, United moved for both Antony and Lisandro Martinez from the Dutch giants upon Ten Hag's arrival from Amsterdam. The losses have had a disastrous impact upon the Eredivisie powerhouse but not exactly a positive one on United given that Antony has spent more time in the headlines for the wrong reasons and Martinez has regularly been injured. The Argentina international is not part of this example of disastrous business, though, because midseason arrival Wout Weghorst pairs with Antony in terms of how bad the 2022-23 business period was for United. The Dutchman came in on loan and although he was part of the EFL Cup-winning side and beaten FA Cup finalists, he contributed little outside of a small handful of cup goals and no meaningful contributions in the Premier League.

No. 1 -- 2021-22: Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho

Nothing can rival United's 2021-22 foray into the transfer market, though, with Sancho and Ronaldo joining at the same time and proved to be massively below expectations. The Portuguese superstar was always going to struggle to live up to his previous stint at Old Trafford so that was to be expected but both coming in at a collective $110 million plus Raphael Varane at an additional $44 million which has not exactly been a roaring success either, 2021-22 must come top of this list of bad years for the Red Devils in terms of their transfers. Sancho alone at $93 million only to return on loan to Dortmund less than three years later with no guarantee of a permanent resolution is tremendously poor from United and illustrative of how serious the situation that the club finds itself in now actually is.