Sir Alex Ferguson didn't often get it wrong in the transfer market when in charge of his great Manchester United sides.
This is a manager who signed Wayne Rooney, nurtured the development of Cristiano Ronaldo, poached Robin van Persie from his great rival Arsene Wenger, acquired Rio Ferdinand from fellow rivals in Leeds United and brought Ole Gunnar Solskajer, the scorer of a Champions League final winner, to great fame.
There are, of course, plenty of other names. But for every Ronaldo and Rooney, there is a Bebe, a Phil Jones of the world to plague Fergie's success in the transfer market.
The Scot is renowned as one of the best, if not the best manager the game has seen, but that doesn't mean he didn't get a few things wrong.
After all, the great tactician once suggested that Jones could become the greatest player in the Old Trafford club's history. That was a prophecy that never came true. Indeed, Jones is now 31 and without a club having endured injury hell in Manchester.
That said, he is perhaps not the biggest example of lost potential. Step forward a certain Juan Sebastian Veron.
How much did Man United sign Veron for?
Back in 2001, United went to great lengths to welcome the Argentine to the club. Indeed, they would eventually part ways with £28m to secure his services.
That was a British transfer record at the time, a record that has now soared to Moises Caicedo's £115m in today's market. How times change, but keep that in mind for later.
Learning his trade in Argentina as a young star, it was in Italy where Veron really rose to prominence. Enjoying time with Sampdoria, Parma and then Lazio, the box-to-box midfielder who seemingly had it all in his locker, registered 25 goals and 43 assists at those clubs before moving to United.
It was clear, therefore, what Ferguson thought he was getting. A playmaker who could boost their hopes of winning the Champions League after three successive league titles.
Not just a player capable of influencing play in the final third, United signed the midfielder due to his ability to make an impact defensively. Indeed, as per Sofascore's historic World Cup statistics, Veron made four key passes per game during the 1998 edition, while also making three interceptions and 2.2 tackles per game.
To put those numbers into modern-day context, Bruno Fernandes tops the charts at United for key passes per match this season with 3.2. Casemiro, meanwhile, leads the way for average tackles with 2.7 and Aaron Wan-Bissaka holds the title of most interceptions with 1.4, as per Sofascore.
When considering his multi-faceted style of play, it's hard to believe he underwhelmed at United, but that's exactly what happened.
How many games did Veron play for Man United?
During his stint under Fergie, Veron played 82 times, scoring 11 goals and registering 15 assists. For a midfielder, contributing a goal once every three games isn't an awful number.
You would, however, expect more for the price tag. Paul Pogba, for context, bagged 39 goals and supplied 51 assists in 226 games after returning to United, contributing to a goal once every 2.5 games.
So, why was he thought of so poorly? Well, these words from Sir Alex will help you to understand.
"Juan Veron was capable of exceptional football and was talented. But, at times, he found the Premiership a bit difficult," Ferguson stated. "He was a European player and that was where we got our best form from him."
That was seen in the stats too, with the Argentina international having a hand in 14 goals during 22 Champions League outings, to just 11 involvements in 51 Premier League appearances.
Not moving abroad, and instead heading to Chelsea for £15m perhaps wasn't the best idea, therefore. After scoring just once in west London, a loan move to Inter followed and then he headed back to his homeland with Estudiantes.
What are the best quotes about Veron?
When Veron arrived at Man United's training base, a session that was currently in progress ground to a halt.
As Mike Phelan recalls: "He turned up at Carrington when we were doing a training session. He walked across and the training session stopped. All the players were like, ‘Wow, it’s Veron!’ — Scholes, Giggs, Keane, the lot. They all shook his hand. He made such an impact.”
Unfortunately, that impact was seldom replicated on the pitch, as Paul Scholes once remembered. Detailing why Veron didn't succeed in England, he believed it was due to a lack of their understanding together in the middle of the park:
"Yeah, me and Veron were a disaster," Scholes told Gary Neville. "I think me and Anderson did it once – just, no, it's not working, is it? Just two lads who don't care about defending – don't know the [DM] position that well. But it worked better with a Michael [Carrick] or a Roy [Keane] or a Nicky [Butt], who were brilliant playing a position they knew."
Such an eventuality was frustrating for a player who held so much talent in his locker. Ferguson may well have grown tired of Veron's tendency to fluctuate, but he still holds fond memories.
"He hit a pass for Beckham with the outside of his foot, and no back-lift, and it bent away round the defence. Beckham ran onto it and lobbed the goalkeeper. In moments, he might be sublime," Ferguson remembers.
How much would Veron be worth in today's market?
The inflation of transfer fees in football throughout the years has been rather ridiculous. Only this summer we saw the British transfer record that Veron once held broken twice.
First Declan Rice joined Arsenal for £105m, before Caicedo headed to the Argentine's former employers Chelsea for £10m more.
So, if the United flop was on the move now, how much would he cost? Well, the Transfer Index at Totally Money suggest he would be worth a staggering £86m if the same transfer happened from Lazio to Old Trafford.
They took the 100 most expensive transfers each season in Europe’s big five leagues – England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France – since the dawn of the Premier League in 1992 and armed with that data, produced the TotallyMoney Transfer Index to calculate football's unique inflation.
£158m
£129m
£122m
£121m
£119m
£118m
£88m
£87m
If you're wondering what the stars of today cost, then it hasn't changed a great deal. A further flop in Harry Maguire hasn't seen his transfer value impacted by inflation.
A staggering £80m signing from Leicester City, his career at United has been a tumultuous affair. That said, considering in today's money he only cost £6m less than Veron, he has been a more successful signing.
A club captain, the defender has appeared 176 times, suggesting that for longevity alone, it was a more prudent deal than Veron at the time, who would leave after just two seasons, now to be mentioned among the biggest flops we have seen in England.
