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#7 Fred – Shakhtar Donetsk to Manchester United, £47m, June 2018
At one point, it looked like Brazilian midfielder Fred – who moved to Manchester United for £47m in the summer of 2018 – would go down as one of the Premier League’s all-time biggest flops.
Fred arrived from Shakhtar Donetsk, and despite having plenty of experience in Europe and on the international stage, looked painfully out of his depth in the Premier League.
However, once boss Jose Mourinho was relieved of his duties in December 2018, the Brazilian midfielder slowly began to improve his performances.
Fred made just 17 Premier League appearances in his debut season for Manchester United.
Now though, he’s one of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s most regular starters, making 22 appearances in the Premier League this season already.
There are still plenty of question marks around Fred’s best position and whether he’s a genuine Champions League-caliber performer.
He rarely scores goals, and his performance against Paris St. Germain this season was absolutely appalling.
However, he is a very hard worker and appears to have won Solskjaer over thanks to his all-action style.
Whether he ever repays that £47m fee is another thing. But for now, at least, it’d be unfair to entirely write off the Brazilian as a Manchester United flop.
#6 Bruno Fernandes – Sporting CP to Manchester United, £47m, January 2020
To say that the £47m fee paid to Sporting CP to bring Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United has turned out to be a bargain would be an understatement.
In fact, there’s an argument to suggest that the Portuguese attacker has been Manchester United’s most important signing of the post-Ferguson era.
Fernandes’ debut for the Red Devils was a quiet one, as his side drew 0-0 with Wolves. After that, though, the Portuguese was an absolute inspiration.
He scored eight goals and registered seven assists as Manchester United surged up the Premier League table.
In the end, they secured a Champions League berth after an unbeaten run of 14 matches – correlating perfectly to Fernandes’ arrival at Old Trafford.
The current 2020-21 campaign has seen Fernandes perform at an even higher level. In 28 Premier League appearances, he’s scored 16 goals and registered 10 assists.
Unflappable from the penalty spot and able to both finish and create chances in seemingly every game, Fernandes has added an edge that Manchester United were lacking for years.
It’s very possible that he could be named as the Premier League’s Player of the Year this season. And if he does, it’ll be a well-deserved accolade for one of the best signings in recent memory.
#5 Aaron Wan-Bissaka – Crystal Palace to Manchester United, £50m, June 2019
Aaron Wan-Bissaka already had a reputation as one of the Premier League’s best full-backs when Manchester United parted with £50m to bring him to Old Trafford in the summer of 2019.
And for the most part, the England U-21 international has lived up to that reputation with some excellent performances for the Red Devils.
Wan-Bissaka made 35 appearances in the 2019-20 campaign. His form was partially responsible for Manchester United having the third-tightest defense in the Premier League – conceding just 36 goals.
The former Crystal Palace man has ran into some criticism for his lack of attacking verve when compared to other Premier League full-backs like Trent Alexander-Arnold.
However, he’s improved this in the current season and has two goals and two assists to his name in his 26 Premier League appearances.
But more importantly, Wan-Bissaka’s defensive skills have remained fantastic. He averages nearly three successful tackles per game and is seemingly impossible to get around at times.
His positional sense has let him down at times and has led to Manchester United conceding some questionable goals. But he’s still just 23 years old and has room to improve.
Wan-Bissaka is already on his way to repaying that £50m fee, and the likelihood is that the best is yet to come for this hugely talented player.
#4 Angel Di Maria – Real Madrid to Manchester United, £60m, August 2014
At the time, Angel Di Maria’s then-British record £60m move to Manchester United seemed to make all the sense in the world.
The Argentine arrived at Old Trafford with a reputation as one of the world’s most exciting attackers.
He’d won six major trophies with Real Madrid and was coming off a Man of the Match-level performance in Los Blancos’ 2014 Champions League final victory.
Unfortunately, Di Maria completely failed to live up to that reputation during his time at Old Trafford. He is now widely renowned as Manchester United’s biggest-ever expensive flop.
Inhering the club’s famous #7 shirt, Di Maria actually started his United career well. He won the Red Devils’ Player of the Month award for September 2014 after scoring two goals and registering two assists in his first four games for the club.
However, that was as good as it would get for the Argentine.
A hamstring injury derailed his season, and when he returned, he just couldn’t force himself back into United’s starting XI.
His nadir came when he was sent off for diving in an FA Cup loss to Arsenal. But to tell the truth, Manchester United fans had already lost patience with him at that point.
Di Maria’s season ended with just 27 appearances and three goals in the Premier League. And so it came as no surprise when he was solid to Paris St. Germain for around £44m in the summer of 2015.
The Argentine has seen much more success since moving to PSG, but he remains one of Manchester United’s worst-ever signings.
