5 players Manchester United should not have sold after Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement

Sir Alex Ferguson will be disappointed with some of these decisions
Sir Alex Ferguson will be disappointed with some of these decisions

#3 Daley Blind

Daley Blind was likened to Darren Fletcher by Sir Alex Ferguson
Daley Blind was likened to Darren Fletcher by Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United had some quality Dutch players. The likes of Jaap Stam, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Robin Van Persie were phenomenal under the Scottish manager.

After the arrival of Louis van Gaal as Manchester United's manager in 2014, he signed Dutch defender Daley Blind from Ajax. The left-footed footballer was a very versatile player. He could play as a centre-back, left-back and also as a central midfielder.

Blind had the intelligence to read the game, the quality to make incisive passes and the technical awareness in whichever position he played. Manchester United could have benefitted a lot from his services had the Dutchman not been sold by Jose Mourinho in 2018. Blind could have been one of the senior figures to guide the dressing room in the post Sir Alex Ferguson era.


#2 Memphis Depay

Sir Alex Ferguson was supportive of Memphis Depay when he struggled at Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson was supportive of Memphis Depay when he struggled at Manchester United

Memphis Depay was doing amazingly well at PSV Eindhoven before he joined Manchester United in 2015. The season before he left for the Premier League, he managed to score 22 goals in 30 league appearances in the Eredivisie, playing as a winger.

Under Louis van Gaal, Depay struggled with game time and poor form, which eventually affected his confidence. Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson did support the former PSV man back then.

But his form didn't get any better with the arrival of Jose Mourinho, after which the Dutch forward left for Lyon. At the French club, he rediscovered his form, scoring 63 goals and recording 39 assists in 139 appearances.

The Dutchman joined Barcelona this summer and is a vital player for the Catalan club. With his smart forward play and goal-scoring abilities, Depay would have been handy at Manchester United only if the Premier League giants had shown more patience with him.


#1 Romelu Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick in Sir Alex Ferguson's last match as Manchester United's manager
Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick in Sir Alex Ferguson's last match as Manchester United's manager

The Belgian has played for a number of Premier League clubs in his football career. Romelu Lukaku signed for Manchester United in 2017 to play under Sir Alex Ferguson's former rival Jose Mourinho.

He had a pretty decent first season, scoring 16 goals and recording seven assists in the Premier League. In the 2018-19 season, Manchester United were struggling under Mourinho, eventually resulting in the sacking of the Portuguese manager.

Under interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Lukaku couldn't revive his form and was often made a scapegoat for United's poor performances.

The former Everton striker was sold to Inter Milan in the 2019-20 season where he did immensely well. In his two seasons with the Italian giants, he scored 47 goals in 72 Serie A appearances, winning the league once. He returned to Chelsea this summer and is looking like a very dangerous player in front of goal.

Given that he's 28 years old, he has a good amount of time at his disposal. Lukaku's quality as a striker was desperately needed by Manchester United this summer and it was one of the club's mistakes post Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.

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