Saturday 9 July 2016 14:39, UK
Sky sources understand Manchester United have opened talks over a £100m deal to sign their former player Paul Pogba. With that in mind, we reflect on examples of when clubs spent big to sign players who slipped from their grasp...
Although a mainstay of the side and a first-team regular, Le Saux left Chelsea for Blackburn in 1993 for the sum of £700,000. Having become one of the country's leading defenders and part of Blackburn's 1994-95 Premier League title-winning side, Chelsea got their chequebook out to re-sign Le Saux in 1997 for what was then a world-record fee for a defender at £5m.
Aged 16, Fabregas left Barcelona for Arsenal in 2003, and after breaking Arsenal's youngest player and goalscorer records, the Spaniard grew to become a key player for the side, making 300 appearances for the Gunners before his 24th birthday. But, having failed to deliver another trophy after the 2005 FA Cup, a prolonged transfer saga finally ended in August 2011 when Barcelona re-signed their own academy product for approximately £35m.
Chelsea originally paid £1.5m for Matic when they brought him in from VSS Kosice in the summer of 2009, and he was seen as a long-term midfield prospect. When he was deemed surplus to requirements for the Chelsea first-team two years later, he was sold to Benfica as a makeweight in a deal to sign defender David Luiz. Three years on and having developed into one of Europe's best defensive midfielders, Chelsea paid a hefty £21m to bring the Serbian back to Stamford Bridge.
Another product of Barcelona's famous La Masia academy, Pique decided to join Manchester United rather than sign on professional terms at Barcelona. He made his debut for United in October 2004 at the age of 17, but found first-team chances hard to come by. Sir Alex Ferguson preferred experience in defence, and Pique was unable to separate the pairing of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand during his time at the club. In the summer of 2008, United accepted a £5m offer from Barcelona to re-sign Pique, where he has since transformed into one of the world's best centre-backs.
Spurs sold a teenage Crouch to second-tier side QPR for approximately £60,000 in 2000. Nine years, six clubs, more than 50 Premier League goals and a handful of World Cup appearances later, Tottenham signed Crouch from Portsmouth for £10m. His second Spurs tenure was much more successful and he famously scored the goal against Manchester City in 2010 to secure Champions League football. Incredibly, this wasn't the first time a former club paid to bring back Crouch, with Portsmouth stumping up around £9m for the striker in 2008, having sold him for £5m to Aston Villa six years earlier.
Arsenal signed the promising Anelka for £500,000 from Paris Saint-Germain in 1997, with the striker going on to score 23 goals in 65 Premier League games for the Gunners, including a 17-goal season in 1998-99. This persuaded Real Madrid to splash out £22.3m on the then-20-year-old. After an unfulfilling year, Madrid decided to sell with PSG offering £22m; 44 times the sum the Paris club had originally sold Anelka for.
Shearer is seen as something of a prodigal son at Newcastle, the Geordie boy who stands as the club's all-time record goalscorer. However, Shearer was rejected after a trial with his boyhood club and before signing for Southampton early in his career. Having excelled at Blackburn, Newcastle fought off competition from Manchester United to bring him to St James' Park, albeit for a then world record transfer fee of £15m in 1996. Whoever knew a trial could be so costly.
After ten years playing for their academy sides, Dortmund let Reus go at the age of 16. Six years later, after a journey that had seen Reus move up from playing in the German third tier to becoming the German Footballer of the Year for Borussia Monchengladbach, Dortmund activated the forward's release clause (£14.5m). Reus is now seen as a hero and stalwart for the club who released him 10 years ago.
