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As the summer transfer window approaches, Manchester United might be quite busy in the transfer market. After the defeat at Amex Stadium against Brighton, United have to clear out the deadwood from the squad. There are certain players who have failed to live up to the expectations in recent seasons.
When Jose Mourinho arrived at Manchester United, he was left with a lot of deadwood in the squad. Some of those players were incapable or not talented enough to play for a club of United’s stature. During the David Moyes and Louis van Gaal era, the club ended up overpaying for many players and that subsequently hampered the growth of the squad too.
Far too often, the fans were left with unrealistic expectations regarding the new signings. Particularly Louis van Gaal brought in a set of relatively undeserving players to Old Trafford. However, all the players on this list aren’t mediocre as such.
These players turned out to be unsuitable to the philosophies of the manager. Eventually, their dismaying performances hampered the progress of the club too. Hence, here we look at five of the worst signings that the Red Devils under the tutelage of Louis Van Gaal.
#5 Morgan Schneiderlin
Morgan Schneiderlin was signed from Southampton following his string of good performances for the Saints. Van Gaal wanted a midfield enforcer, someone who could break attacks and then start of potential attacking moves with a composed presence on the ball. Hence, the Dutch gaffer persuaded the club to pay a hefty €35 million for the Frenchman. However, unfortunately, Schneiderlin was unable to replicate his previous form in the United shirt.
Schneiderlin played at the centre of the park, but hardly ever provided stability to the backline during his stay on the pitch. His concentration was woeful, as Morgan often allowed attacking moves to go past him. He wasn’t quick on his feet and often slowed down the tempo of the game with his lethargic build-up play. The Frenchman was not prolific going forward and hardly ever contributed in attacking moves.
His inability to read the game properly, the lack of threat that he provided in front of the goal and the increasing competition in the midfield decreased his chances of playing regularly. He left the club in the winter transfer window of the 2016/17 season, ending an 18 month long stay at the club. Morgan managed to make 32 appearances in the league and scored once before leaving for Everton.
His only full season at United was the 2015/16 campaign, in which he made 29 appearances and recorded just one goal contribution. Though, he recorded a passing success rate of 89.5%, the lack of energy and drive in the midfield devoided United of any bite in the midfield.
#4 Bastian Schweinsteiger
Bastian Schweinsteiger has undoubtedly been one of the most notable midfielders of this generation. The veteran was a fine reader of the game, could score well, was versatile enough to either shift to the flank or play through the centre and was the driving force behind Bayern Munich’s and German national team’s success over the years. When United signed him up from the Bavarians for a fee worth €9 million, everyone thought that it was a bargain.
After all, Schweinsteiger brought a winning mentality and leadership ability that was missing in the United squad ever since Fergie’s retirement. However, the move turned out to be quite disastrous as it was later realized that Bayern had agreed to sell him as the former captain was carrying a long due knee injury. It hampered his impact in England as Bastian found it extremely difficult to adjust himself to the pace and physicality of the Premier League. He was particularly overrun and demolished by Mesut Ozil in the midfield in Arsenal's 3-0 thrashing of United in 2015.
After Jose Mourinho’s arrival, Schweinsteiger was quite literally frozen out of the team as the gaffer had problems with the player’s attitude in training. He made only a handful of appearances while reportedly taking wages £200,000 per week. Schweinsteiger had minimal influence on the pitch and he left for Chicago Fire in March 2017. The experienced campaigner made just 18 league appearances throughout his stay and scored once in Premier League before his move to the MLS.
All of those league appearances came in the 2015/16 season, and that indicates that he was unfit and did not adapt readily to adjust to the hardships of the Premier League. Schweinsteiger scored just once in the league and recorded no assists whatsoever. He made six appearances in the Champions League too, and even there he failed to provide any goal contribution.
#3 Angel di Maria
Every club tries to find a stroke of lightning at the end of a dark tunnel. The 2013/14 season was horrendous for Manchester United and hence they wanted to see an inspirational, spectacular figure in the squad. Louis Van Gaal and the board seemed to have pulled off a stunner when they successfully lured Angel di Maria from Real Madrid for a British record fee of €75 million.
The Argentine was had won the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2013/14 and was instrumental in the whole campaign. However, when Real decided to force him out of the squad in order to accommodate James Rodriguez, United pounced on the opportunity to sign the winger.
However, there were rumours from the beginning that United wasn’t the preferred of the former Benfica man as the player wanted to play for PSG. In England, he endured a horrific season in which he scored just thrice in 27 Premier League appearances.
He even recorded ten assists and that makes up for a decent tally in a debut season. However, towards the Christmas period, his performances deteriorated drastically and the Argentine spent the final months of the season mostly on the bench. His attitude on the pitch did not help his case either. He was played as the centre-forward in one of the games, and that highlights the tactical naivety of LVG, which troubled the player's time at Manchester too.
Van Gaal’s reserved approach towards the game restricted him from playing his natural game and hence Di Maria was visibly frustrated in England. Additionally, his house was burgled and hence the off-field as well as the on-field issues combined to make it a terrible period for him in England. He later moved to PSG after spending just a single season at Manchester United. The financial loss that the club suffered through this deal was too big to ignore.
#2 Matteo Darmian
The mere fact that Matteo Darmian still finds himself on the fringes of the first-team is something that is quite difficult to understand. The Italian fullback was signed from Torino for a fee worth €18 million and had an excellent first few months in the club. He delivered consistent performances, displayed a brilliant work ethic and significantly contributed to attacking moves too.
Van Gaal seemed to be extremely keen and was fond of Darmian particularly. The Italian even bagged the Club’s Player of the Month award in August 2015. However, as time progressed, the fullback failed to deliver consistently and has become a subdued player of the squad. He has failed to impress whenever given an opportunity and his attacking instincts seem to have died down too.
The fullback now just covers his flank and hardly ever wanders ahead in order to contribute to the attacking play. Whenever he goes ahead, Darmian leaves a lot of space and does not track behind in time. His performance against Brighton a couple of days ago was shambolic, to say the least. He neither provided any offensive impetus nor did he defend solidly.
The Italian has so far made 53 league appearances for Manchester United and hasn't notched even one assist. In a time when fullbacks are required to provide regular contributions in attack, Darmian has been unable to adapt to the changing demands.
His wayward crossing coupled with the lack of intent to go further up on the pitch devoids United from any kind of offensive action through the flanks. He has made 2.2 tackles on an average in these 53 matches, but his one-dimensional approach is unacceptable for a club of United's standards/
The fact that Darmian was compared with Gary Neville during his early days at Manchester United shows how the player failed to live up to the expectations of the fans.
Nowadays, Jose prefers playing Antonio Valencia over Darmian. Losing your place to a player who is not even a specialist in that particular position hurts huh? Ouch.
#1 Memphis Depay
Manchester United’s search for their next number 7 continued after Angel di Maria’s imminent departure. Memphis Depay was signed after he enjoyed a prolific season with PSV Eindhoven in which he finished as the top goal-scorer of the Dutch league with 22 goals from 30 matches.
Louis Van Gaal was impressed by the young talent. He signed the lad for a reported fee of €34 million in order to beef up his attacking personnel. Depay is essentially a left-winger and one expected him to settle down completely at Manchester United without much pressure. However, Depay squandered away his chances by being way too selfish on the field.
He often tried to take a shot at goal himself rather than passing the ball to his teammates who were in better positions in the penalty box. Depay’s lifestyle was quite extravagant and that made it even more difficult for him to settle at Manchester. His attitude was doubtful, and subsequently, Depay fell down the pecking order following the arrival of Anthony Martial and the emergence of Marcus Rashford. Under
In the 2015/16 season, he made 29 appearances in the Premier League. However, a majority (13 to be precise) of those appearances came off the bench. This shows that Depay had adjusted to the rigours of the league. He scored just twice and notched no assists, an embarrassing stat for a Manchester United forward. The Dutchman had to improve a lot in his decision making in the final third, but regular off-field distractions stunted his growth at the club.
Under Jose Mourinho, Depay played just 20 minutes in the Premier League and was not in the plans of the manager. With a more committed player like Rashford on the ranks, Mourinho was not keen to play Memphis on a regular basis. He scored thrice in 12 appearances in the European competitions (UCL and UEL combined). However, those goals came against Club Brugge.
.Mourinho finally allowed him to leave for Lyon in the winter of 2016/17. Depay's consistently below-par performances further highlight the extent to which his performances dropped after arriving at Manchester United.
