Midfielders
Left Wing: Mame Diouf
Diouf was the top scorer in the Tippeligaen, Norway's football league, with 12 goals in 17 games before his move to Manchester United as a 21-year-old. However, he only made nine appearances as a Manchester United player scoring just one goal in the process, before he was sent out on loan to Blackburn Rovers. He made an instant impact for the team, scoring 15 minutes after coming on for his debut, before netting a hat-trick on his first full debut for the club.
The Senegalese returned to Old Trafford with 30 first team games under his belt, hoping to get recognised at the club and then Reserves manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was full of praise for the young player. However, as luck would have it, Diouf would only make a handful of appearances for the club, most of them in the League Cup before his move to Hannover 96.
The 29-year-old made over 70 appearances for the German side, scoring 35 goals in the process, with 25 goals in 57 league appearances. But his return to the Premier League was inevitable and Mark Hughes had always been a huge fan of the winger, the Stoke City manager finally signed him and brought him to the Bet365 stadium.
Central midfielder: Danny Drinkwater
Manchester-born Danny Drinkwater was at Manchester United for nearly 13 years before he was sold in 2012, having spent spells on loan at Huddersfield, Cardiff, Watford and Barnsley. The Old Trafford club had not signed a central midfielder in five years when Drinkwater left the club, despite Paul Scholes coming out of retirement in 2012.
However, Drinkwater joined Leicester City, where under both Nigel Pearson and Claudio Ranieri, he became an essential cog in the Leicester City midfield. The English international was among the best of Claudio Ranieri’s players, with the midfielder playing a key role in the club’s fairytale title win.
Alongside Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy, and N’Golo Kante, Drinkwater earned widespread plaudits for his performances from midfield.
The 27-year-old was tipped for an England spot in their doomed Euros campaign, only to miss out in Roy Hodgson's final cut.
Central Midfielder: Darron Gibson
Darron Gibson was certainly a unique figure during Sir Alex Ferguson's reign at Manchester United. On the one hand, he was an academy product and fans wanted to see one of the kids succeed on the big stage. But on the other hand, his tendency to score screamers was often dissipated by his poor movement and passing.
The 29-year-old made just over 60 odd appearances for the club scoring ten goals and left for Everton in January 2012. The Irish midfielder is smart on the ball, determined to win possession and has the ability to score piledriver goals, traits that Manchester United desperately needed but never managed to get the Irishman to produce. He, however, excelled under former Everton boss David Moyes.
However, after Moyes left, the midfielder struggled and was eventually sold by new manager Ronald Koeman to Sunderland, where he teamed up with Moyes again.
Right Wing: Wilfried Zaha
Wilfried Zaha was Sir Alex Ferguson's last signing, bought from Palace for £15 million in 2013 as a 20-year-old with extraordinary potential. But unfortunately for both the club and player, the move didn’t work out, and Zaha returned to the Eagles in 2015.
He returned to Palace on loan and then made the deal a permanent one, after managing to make four appearances for Manchester United.
When Louis Van Gaal arrived, he ended the winger’s stay at Old Trafford and sent him back to Selhurst Park, where he has managed to spark a comeback of sorts. The English international failed to impress in his first season back at Palace, scoring just two Premier League goals against relegated teams. This season, however, has seen the 24-year-old progress and impress fans once again with his flair and ingenuity.
Zaha is finally threatening to become the player Ferguson believed he could be some four years ago and has turned into a player that Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce can now count on.
