Manchester United have had an abundance of players come through the doors at Old Trafford over the last decade, with it fair to say that while some have worked out for the better, others have seemingly flopped.
A recent example of this is that of Jadon Sancho, the winger signed from Borussia Dortmund for a fee in the region of £73m back in 2021.
Although for his first couple of seasons, the Englishman put in solid numbers by being involved in eight goals during the 2021/22 campaign and then a further ten in the following term, he was hardly a pivotal player within the Red Devils' squad.
Those woes culminated in his decline during the early stages of 2023/24, as the wideman was isolated from Erik ten Hag's squad and shipped back to Dortmund in January on a loan move until the end of the season, where, in just seven games, he has managed to assist his teammates twice.
Another of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's signings who can be included in the same sort of category as Sancho is that of Daniel James. The one-time Swansea City attacker joined the club in 2019 for a fee worth up to £18m after add-ons, before leaving just two years later.
Despite the Welshman's mixed fortunes at Old Trafford, he certainly had his moments at the club, with his strengths making him the type of player who could have thrived in tomorrow's eagerly-awaited Manchester derby.
Dan James' stats whilst at Man Utd
Whilst he only spent a couple of years in Manchester before joining Leeds for £25m, James certainly wasn't a complete disaster as he played in a total of 74 games and managed to contribute to 18 goals and assists.
That record holds up well in contrast to current flop, Antony, for instance, with the Brazilian having contributed just 13 goals and assists in 71 games in all competitions for the club to date, following his arrival on a mammoth £86m deal.
With the trip to the Etihad on the horizon, Ten Hag may wish he had a figure like James to call upon instead of the struggling Antony, with the Leeds man having that willing work ethic to be a useful asset in a one-off game like the derby.
Man Utd's Solskjaer signing with “no desire” is now worth less than Antony
The star has been unable to live up to his huge price tag.
With Rasmus Hojlund currently sidelined, Ten Hag may have to select a forward line of Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and the aforementioned Antony, although there may be a sense that a talent like James would've been far more useful.
The 26-year-old's ability to hurt the Cityzens was notably laid bare following United's 2-1 triumph away from home back in December 2019, with James playing so well that United legend, Peter Schmeichel described his performance as "unbelievable".
As Gary Neville stated in commentary at the time, the hosts were simply "battered" on the counter-attack with the speedy winger central to that game plan, with journalist Samuel Luckhurst writing for Manchester Evening News that 'City could not keep up with his blistering pace' while awarding him an 8/10 match rating.
While James has played against City a total of ten times in his career and only managed one goal involvement – that assist coming in that 2-1 triumph in 2019 – he certainly provided Solskjaer's side with a real outlet that Ten Hag is currently lacking.
One thing is for sure, most United supporters would rather see James lining up on the right flank, ahead of the hapless Antony…