Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Manchester United started with high hopes, but it wasn’t long before the pressure, the scrutiny, and the weight of expectations came crashing down.

And while managing a team like United comes with endless factors beyond a single transfer or tactic, there were five pivotal signings that, in retrospect, seem to have nudged Ten Hag closer to the edge of his seat—and ultimately might’ve helped topple him out of it.

One can’t help but think of Antony as the first domino. Here’s a young Brazilian winger with all the flash in the world but little to back it up with substance, especially when the Premier League demands so much grit.

The price? A staggering £85 million, nearly forcing fans and management alike to justify the spend by touting him as the next big thing. But for all the flair and footwork, the delivery was painfully sporadic. To make matters worse, Antony’s off-the-pitch controversies didn’t exactly help Ten Hag’s case.

When a club spends that much, they expect returns in the form of goals and assists, not headlines of another sort. And Antony? He brought a few glimpses of brilliance but nowhere near the consistency or drive to make him worth that monumental investment.

Next up, Lisandro Martínez. Now, this is a tough one because Martínez, with his tenacious defending style and unwavering commitment, looked promising at first. Nicknamed “The Butcher” for a reason, he was supposed to bring the bite United’s backline had sorely missed. Yet, the Premier League doesn’t often show mercy on undersized defenders.

For all his heart, Martínez was physically outmatched and sometimes outwitted by towering strikers, exposing Ten Hag’s defense as the team faced relentless attacks. Injuries only added insult to injury, making this high-stakes gamble on his former Ajax defender look increasingly questionable as the season wore on.

Then, Mason Mount—a Premier League golden boy in his own right but a head-scratcher of a signing for United fans. Mount had his moments at Chelsea, sure, but was he really the dynamic playmaker United needed?

They shelled out £55 million, expecting the vibrant attacking mid to bring energy, yet he often appeared out of sync, lost between roles as he struggled to carve out a niche in United’s crowded midfield. And when he did find space, it was rare that he showed the game-changing skill to match his hefty fee. Instead, he became a reminder of a disjointed plan, a symbol of the confusion that seemed to surround United’s transfer policy under Ten Hag’s watch.

The next addition? Casemiro. This one’s contentious because, frankly, Casemiro is a midfield beast. His Real Madrid days earned him legendary status, but in the twilight of his career, his transfer to United was steeped in risk.

At over £60 million, fans expected an unshakeable midfield foundation. And while Casemiro certainly has moments of dominance, his age and lack of pace started showing sooner than anyone had hoped. Ten Hag’s gamble on Casemiro became a dilemma as he was caught between respecting the player’s legacy and acknowledging that the Premier League’s demands had begun outpacing his current capabilities.

Lastly, Rasmus Højlund, the new kid on the block with a £72 million price tag and the hopes of United’s scoring future pinned on him. Here was a striker meant to set the pitch ablaze, to shake things up and finally end United’s goal drought.

But let’s be honest—the weight of such a fee and the impatience of the fans left Højlund looking more overwhelmed than empowered. He wasn’t quite ready for the burden, and rather than stepping up as a breakout star, he’s still finding his footing while the season drags on.

The sad irony? Each of these players carried a seed of potential, and in a different context, with a different system or perhaps even a different manager, they might have thrived. But as Ten Hag’s signings, they became emblematic of a transfer strategy that just didn’t connect, a costly miscalculation that turned optimism into skepticism.

Under the bright lights and relentless critiques at Old Trafford, the pressure to perform only magnified the faults in each one of these moves.

Ultimately, the disappointment around these signings—and the subsequent struggles on the pitch—showed a pattern of mismatched expectations. While United needed stability, consistency, and a fierce hunger to challenge for the title, Ten Hag’s expensive picks turned into more of a gamble than a guarantee. Each misstep deepened the cracks that left Ten Hag vulnerable to the one thing Manchester United doesn’t tolerate for long: failure.