Ranking Man Utd’s best and worst transfers since Sir Alex Ferguson retired

Man Utd are still struggling despite Luton win | Football Digest

Manchester United have spent over £1.5billion in the transfer market since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club a decade ago. They have no Premier League titles to show for it, though, with a handful of good signings being dwarfed by a much larger selection of players who have failed to hit the standards required.

Express Sport takes a look at the five best and five worst signings made by United in their post-Ferguson era…

Best – Bruno Fernandes

Bruno Fernandes has emerged as a key player for United since joining the club from Sporting nearly three years ago. The 29-year-old managed to hit the ground running upon his arrival and still regularly features for the Red Devils after outlasting several of his peers.

His form has come under fire on a number of occasions but every manager has continued to view him as an important member of the side. He will be hoping to keep impressing with his creative ability under Erik ten Hag for the rest of the season as United chase down a spot in the Premier League’s top four.

Best – Zlatan Ibrahimovic

United signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free transfer in 2016 in a move which gave them two years of service from one of football’s most enigmatic strikers. He scored four goals in his first three competitive matches for the Red Devils on his way to an impressive 28-goal haul at the end of his first season at Old Trafford.

Ibrahimovic’s form helped United to win the League Cup and Europa League, the latter trophy coming as the first European title of his career. However, a long-term knee injury meant that he only made a handful of appearances in his second season at the club before he left in March to join LA Galaxy.

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Best – Lisandro Martinez

Lisandro Martinez was one of Erik ten Hag’s first signings at United and has so far proven himself as one of the best. ‘The Butcher’, as he is affectionately known as by Red Devils supporters, excelled in his debut campaign despite facing claims that his short stature would not translate well to Premier League football.

Martinez has been able to silence his critics with his ability to play out from the back, while his vocal leadership and tenacious approach in defence have also gone down well since his arrival in Manchester. He is currently sidelined with a long-term injury but will be expected to rekindle his crucial role at the back upon his return to action next year.

Best – Luke Shaw

Luke Shaw is among United’s longest-serving players, having joined the club as a fresh-faced teenager from Southampton back in 2014. Now 28 years of age, he is one of the club’s most consistent performers and remains a hugely important player for the Red Devils nearly a decade on from his arrival.

Shaw’s progress was cruelly disrupted by a double leg fracture in 2015 which ruled him out for 11 months, while he also endured a difficult period during Jose Mourinho’s time in charge of the club. However, he has successfully managed to live up to his potential in spite of the setbacks faced and was recently rewarded with a new contract, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2027.

Best – Ander Herrera

While not the most glamorous name on this list, Ander Herrera was a committed workhorse for United and was revered by fans due to his full-blooded approach to the game. He was one of Mourinho’s most reliable players, helping the Red Devils to win the Europa League and finish as Premier League runners-up before the Portuguese boss was sacked in 2018.

Herrera ended up staying at Old Trafford for another year until he left the club to join Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2019. He was never one of the most talented players on United’s books but deservedly racked up over 130 appearances during his five-year spell in Manchester.

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Worst – Anthony Martial

United thought they had signed a star of the future when they pulled off a deal to bring Anthony Martial to Old Trafford back in 2015. The forward was snapped up for a transfer fee of around £36million after establishing himself as one to watch during his time at Monaco but has failed to hit the heights that were once expected of him.

Martial offered a glimpse of his true potential in the 2019/20 season, when he bagged a total of 23 goals in all competitions under the guidance of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. However, those moments of quality have been too few and far between when his underwhelming eight-year spell at United is taken into account.

Worst – Angel Di Maria

Angel Di Maria arrived at United to plenty of fanfare in 2014 but it quickly became apparent that his capture was yet another dud on the transfer front. The Red Devils smashed the British record fee to bring the Argentine winger to Old Trafford before shipping him out to PSG after only one dismal season.

He scored just four goals during his brief spell at United before blaming Louis van Gaal for his struggles on English shores, saying: “It wasn’t the best period of my career, they didn’t let me have my best time there. There were problems with the coach at the time, but thanks to God, I was able to come to PSG and be myself again.”

Worst – Jadon Sancho

United’s pursuit of Jadon Sancho lasted several years before they finally managed to land him from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2021. The move has not worked out as they would have hoped, though, with Sancho having struggled to adapt to life at Old Trafford from the word go.

The winger currently finds himself in exile at United following a bitter row with Ten Hag earlier this season, which is showing no sign of being resolved as things stand. Reports have suggested that Sancho could be sold in January or at the end of the campaign, with little hope of United recouping the £73m fee they paid to secure his services two years ago.

Worst – Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez was regarded as one of Europe’s best players shortly before his big-money move to United from Arsenal back in 2018. Things quickly turned south for the ex-Barcelona forward upon his arrival at Old Trafford, leading to his departure in 2020 after scoring just three goals in two years for the Red Devils.

He has since gone on to achieve relative success at Inter Milan and Marseille but has never managed to reach the same heights as he did at Arsenal before joining United. Now back at the San Siro on a one-year deal, Sanchez will go down as one of the most disappointing signings made by United in their post-Ferguson era.

Worst – Memphis Depay

Memphis Depay was another young player who moved to United with bags of potential, but he was never able to reach it during his time in the Premier League. He turned plenty of heads with his impressive form at PSV before joining the Red Devils in a high-profile deal in the summer of 2015.

United boss Van Gaal later admitted that he was forced into signing Depay earlier than he wanted to due to interest from PSG and it certainly showed throughout his ill-fated spell at Old Trafford. He only made four appearances, all off the bench, in his final season at United before he was eventually sold to Lyon in 2017.

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