Poor recruitment has plagued Manchester United under the Glazer ownership, particularly after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
The Red Devils have spent north of £1.5 billion since they last won the league in 2013 and with Eric Ten Hag’s side struggling once again this season, they may have to spend greater sums to return to the top of English football.
Here are five of the worst signings the club has made since Ferguson retired…
5. Paul Pogba
Not many signings have summarised Manchester United’s poor recruitment more than Paul Pogba. The former youth player left Old Trafford on a free transfer in 2012 when he was disillusioned with a lack of game time. He returned to Manchester in a blockbuster £89m transfer in 2016. Six years later it was déjà vu, returning to Juventus once again on a free transfer. It was six years of ups and downs, plenty of drama, and just three trophies which ultimately meant Pogba’s massive transfer fee was never repaid.
4. Memphis Depay
On his arrival for £30m in 2015 , the highly touted Dutch prodigy was handed the famous number seven shirt as worn by George Best, David Beckham, Eric Cantona and Cristian Ronaldo. No pressure there! Under the guidance of manager Louis Van Gaal, his fellow Dutch countryman, Memphis was tipped to rise to the very top, but his Old Trafford career failed to meet the hype, scoring just two goals in his debut Premier League season before being shipped off to Lyon 18 months after arriving.
3. Angel Di Maria
Another blockbuster signing on the wing under Van Gaal, the transfer was a statement of support for the manager. Things started well for the £59m rated Argentinian, who notched two goals and two assists in his first four games on the way to securing Man Utd’s Player of the Month award for September. However, a spell on the sidelines through injury, a robbery at his family home and the dull Manchester weather proved too much for Di Maria. Less than 12 months after he signed, he was on a plane to France to sign for PSG for £44 million.
2. Alexis Sanchez
It looked as though United had pulled off a Robin Van Persie-style coup when they signed Alexis Sanchez from rivals Arsenal in 2018. Van Persie’s switch from north London to Manchester secured Ferguson his final Premier League title. Could Sanchez have the same impact? In a swap deal that involved Henrik Mkhitaryan moving the other way, Sanchez arrived on astronomical wages rumoured to be north of £300k per week. Like many signings before and after him, Sanchez failed to replicate his sparkling form from earlier in his career. A rotten 18-month spell in Manchester, which included just three league goals, ended with a loan move to Inter Milan that became permanent in 2020.
1. Jadon Sancho
Tipped as one of the brightest prospects in world football upon his arrival, there was plenty of excitement around the transfer of Jadon Sancho to Old Trafford in the summer of 2021. The club forked out £73m for the 21-year-old phenom and is a perfect summary of United’s transfer business over the last decade. Sancho has produced just 12 goals and six assists in 82 games at the time of writing. He is currently refusing to apologise to his boss Ten Hag after the Dutchman criticised his levels in training and has been frozen out of the first team as a result.
