The bizarre Man Utd £50m transfer fear that could see club fail to sign in-demand gem

Perhaps it is unsurprising that Manchester United are trying to live in 2013. After all, eleven years ago they still had Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm, still felt and acted like a relevant powerhouse in English and continental football.

Back then, the Red Devils demanded fear and respect in equal measure. They actually won trophies, bullied and harangued teams into submissions on a weekly, sometimes even bi-weekly, basis. No longer is that the case. The world has turned and left United clinging to former glories like a balding man with a particularly shoddy comb-over.

Despite the rosy tint of nostalgia, however, it is important to remember that even under Fergie, things did go wrong. Take, for instance, the signing of Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace. The forward arrived at Old Trafford as a precocious starlet, but never truly made an impact on the first team in Manchester and, after a couple of furtive loan spells, would return to his boyhood club on a permanent deal in 2015. Why it didn't work out for him at United is difficult to say, but whatever the reason, his struggle will have been unique to him.

Which is why ESPN's latest report on another Manchester United transfer pursuit feels like absolute lunacy. According to the renowned outlet, the Red Devils are heavily interested in Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise. So far, so unremarkable. But that same article then goes on to state: 'Sources have said that United's interest in Olise is not universally supported within Old Trafford, with some members the recruitment team expressing reservations following the failure of [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka and Wilfried Zaha to successfully make the transition from Palace to the more demanding environment of life at United.'

There's a lot to unpack here, but the main take away is that decisions over the suitability of a player for your burgeoning project cannot be made on the basis of a failed transfer involving his club some eleven years ago. Nothing could be more emblematic of United's continued struggle for relevancy than potentially passing up on the opportunity to sign an obvious world-beater because they still have one foot stuck in the Fergie era.

Olise is a special talent; anybody who watches him, even casually, can see as much. Since his return from injury earlier this season, he has scored five goals in nine Premier League outings for a Palace side who are, diplomatically speaking, drab and forgettable. Even putting his output to one side, he is a scintillating carrier of the ball with an eye for an incisive pass and a certain indescribable aura that he boasts in abundance. There is a reason why, alongside United, the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea are also being linked. One way or another, the lad is going to the very top.

And nothing that Zaha has done in his own career will have any bearing on that. Obviously. Refusing to sign him because you once brought in a player from Crystal Palace who failed to live up to the anticipatory hype is borderline insanity, not least because the implication is that if Olise was on the books at, say, Brentford, United would presumably have no qualms about chasing a deal.

Maybe the Frenchman, reportedly valued at around £50 million will end up at Old Trafford this summer, and maybe he will not. But if he doesn't, United better have a much more justifiable excuse in their back pocket than a lingering refusal to let go of the past.