LONDON / Following a period of relative parsimony in Alex Ferguson’s final years as Manchester United manager, the English giants have changed course dramatically in the 15 months since he retired. Ferguson was fond of the refrain that there was “no value” in the transfer market whenever he was asked to explain United’s apparent reluctance to spend, but the club’s recent travails have prompted a radical rethink. After the sacking of David Moyes and a seventh-place finish in the Premier League last season, United have allowed new manager Louis van Gaal to spend over £150 million ($249 million, 190 million euros) on new players. Culminating in the arrivals of Argentina winger Angel di Maria for a British-record fee of £59.7 million and Colombia striker Radamel Falcao on a season-long loan from Monaco costing around £6 million, it was an unprecedented splurge, even for a club worth as much as United. Prior to those headline-grabbing arrivals, United had already been busy remodelling their squad with moves for Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera, England left-back Luke Shaw, and Di Maria’s Argentina team-mate Marcos Rojo. United have also signed Daley Blind, a member of the Netherlands squad that finished third at the World Cup under Van Gaal, in a £14 million deal from Ajax. With captain Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Alexander Buttner, Danny Welbeck and Shinji Kagawa leaving, and Ryan Giggs hanging up his boots to become Van Gaal’s assistant, it has been a period of great upheaval at Old Trafford.