In previous days, just after the transfer window has ended, recapitulating what has been done is a usual process. Manchester United did not really excite with their business this summer and there has already been talk of appointing a director of football. Whether that would be a good idea or not we already wrote. This time, we are focusing on the biggest transfer flops Manchester United made since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. It was then that David Gill left, as well.
The players are not chosen here in any specific order.
Morgan Schneiderlin
Manchester United signed him in summer of 2015, when Louis Van Gaal was the manager. The club spent 31.5 million pounds on the Southampton midfielder, but he was shipped off just 18 months later. The Frenchman played in 32 Premier League matches and did not really impress.
It actually never felt right since his arrival. Schneiderlin was not at necessary levels, while Southampton managed to cash in nicely. United sort of fell in a trap of believing he was truly ready for the big step up from a less pressured environment. In the end, selling him to Everton for 20 million pounds was a good deal for a player far from the first team.
Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria came to Manchester United from Real Madrid in a deal worth 67 million pounds. He was a big name signing, but the transfer was not really properly planned. Di Maria is not a player eager to be constrained by the rigid manager’s wishes that Van Gaal proved to prefer.
Di Maria also found it hard in England, even though he started well. Manchester United in the recuperated most of that money after just a year at the club. Under a different manager, system and with more time to prove himself, it is much easier seeing Di Maria doing well at Man United.
Memphis Depay
The Dutch player proved to be the signing that encapsulated how far down the pecking order fell the Eredivisie. He was by far the best player in Dutch league, but never managed to do anything of great importance at Man United. He came for 30 million pounds, which is not as much money these days and Depay’s mentality proved to unstable for a tough environment a massive club can be.
It seems that now at Lyon he found his level, performing well across the season.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Henrikh Mkhitaryan had some decent moments at Man United. He even won Europa League. But simply put, just so much more was expected of him. He was a player that had the potential to be one of the key players for this club. In the end, it turned out that he was a bit too meek for Man United, which we were able to see in his comments after he left to Arsenal. He was signed for Jose Mourinho, but it did not truly feel like it was a good fit – for either of sides.
Therefore, these deals are just some of those that show United have been dealing without a long term plan. It is time to change that.
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