Cristiano Ronaldo may be marginally thje easier player to get, though he will enter the final two years of his contract in the summer

Here we go again: Project Superstar Hunt, a convoluted and incredibly complex process that has invariably resulted in the hopes of Manchester United supporters being raised, and then crushed as they watch the latest big name stay put or totter off to a rival.

It happened when Gareth Bale spurned United’s late advances to join Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, the same summer Cesc Fàbregas turned down a move to Old Trafford, and the unrequited flirtations since with the Welshman, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and others must have left fans feeling like an ignored fourth-former at a school disco.

So will next summer be any different? Can United acquire the game-changer an embattled Louis van Gaal craves on the pitch and the global draw