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Manchester United saw plenty of activity on transfer deadline day. The club secured the services of Anthony Martial from Monaco for a world-record fee for a teenage. They also brought in Newport County's Regan Poole. But recently, United have sold some of their clubs' best prospects away to rivals – notably Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverly.Both these players were destined for big things at United, but the incredible competition for places and their performances meant that there was no place for the two at the club anymore. United manager Louis van Gaal saw both of them as surplus to his needs.Welbeck joined Arsenal on a permanent deal while Cleverley joined Aston Villa on loan after moving on to Everton on a permanent basis. Both of them will be looking for a fresh start at their new clubs, just like other players who came through the academy or joined the club at a very young age and have made an impact at other clubs. Left: Danny Welbeck with his new Arsenal jersey, Right: Tom Cleverley unveiled at Aston VillaHere is a look at Top 5 active players who left Manchester United at a young age and went on to succeed.DISCLAIMER: The views expressed here are that of the author’s and not of the site.
#5 Ryan Shawcross
Shawcross is no stranger to Premier League fans. The current Stoke City captain was involved in a notorious incident with Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey in 2010, which left the Welshman with a broken leg.
Shawcross initially joined the Potters on loan from Manchester United in 2007. His good form with the club, who were then playing in the English Championship, prompted Tony Pulis to keep him at the Britannia stadium. The defender helped Stoke gain promotion to the Premier League and has been a key figure at the back for the team till date.
He was given the armband before the 2010-11 season and his fine form last season also saw him win Stoke City’s Player of the Year award.
He joined Manchester United in 2002 and progressed through the academy and reserves side, but could only manage two first team appearances for them – both in the League Cup before he left Old Trafford.
The 26-year-old has represented England once and is still eligible to represent Wales internationally as his only appearance came in a friendly. Interestingly his debut came against Sweden in 2012 and it was in this match that Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored 4 goals including his goal that won the 2013 Puskas award. Shawcross was the England player who desperately tried to make a goal line block.
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#4 Ron-Robert Zieler
The above picture of Zieler speaks volumes about how much his career has progressed after leaving Manchester United. Zieler, along with Roman Weidenfeller, were Germany’s backup goalkeepers to Manuel Neuer for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where they were crowned champions.
Although the 25-year-old didn’t make an appearance at the tournament, it is a significant achievement to make the German squad because Zieler had to fight off competition from top class players like Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Rene Adler (Hamburger SV) and Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen).
Zieler joined Manchester United in 2005 at the age of 16 and played for their youth and reserve squad. He was given a first team number for the 2008-09 season and made the bench for United’s 3-1 win over Middlesbrough in the League Cup. The German went on loan later that season to Northampton Town and made two appearances for them.
The shot stopper broke his arm in a reserves fixture in March 2009 and returned to playing during the next preseason. He then struggled to regain his position in the reserve squad and left Manchester United for Hannover without making an appearance for the first team.
He is now Hannover’s first choice keeper and has stood in goal for Germany on three occasions. He also became the first German goal keeper to earn a red card since the foundation of the German National team, when he was sent off against Argentina on 15 August 2012.
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#3 Giuseppe Rossi
Rossi signed for Manchester United when he was 17 back in 2004 and the Italian subsequently went on to make his first team debut later that year against Crystal Palace in a League Cup encounter. He had to wait for almost another year before he made his Premier League debut. He came on in the 78th minute against Sunderland and 9 minutes later scored the last goal in a 3-1 win.
He then went on loan to Newcastle United for the first half of the 2006-07 season where he managed to find the back of the net only once in 13 appearances for the Magpies. For the latter half of the same season, he went on loan to Italian side Parma and scored 9 times in 20 appearances.
The Italian striker moved to Villarreal before the start of the 2007-08 season. He had more first team opportunities at the Spanish side and had his breakthrough season in 2010-11 when he scored 32 times in 56 games for Villarreal in all competitions.
His career hit a speed breaker the very next season when he suffered back-to-back anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears which kept him out for over 16 months.
Rossi moved back to Italy with Fiorentina in January 2013, but it was only on the final day of the season that Rossi made his debut for the club after coming off the substitutes’ bench. He put his injuries behind him and started last season brightly and was the league’s leading goal scorer with 14 goals in 18 appearances before he suffered another injury. He made his return from injury after around four months and scored on his comeback.
Despite all his injuries, Rossi has represented Italy 30 times and scored 7 goals.
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#2 Gerard Pique
Pique has been a key member of the Barcelona squad for seven years now. He has won four league titles and two Champions League winners’ medals with the Catalan club. In addition to this, Pique started all of Spain’s matches at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2012 Euro, where Spain were crowned champions.
He started his career at Barcelona’s famous La Masia, but joined Manchester United before signing his first professional contract with the Catalans. He made his debut for United as a substitute and made his full debut on 29 March 2006 against West Ham in a Premier League game, playing as a right back.
The Spaniard signed for Zaragoza on a season long loan for the 2006-07 season. The following season he made nine league appearances for United and picked up a league winner’s medal as well as a Champions League winners’ medal with the club.
It was after this season that he returned to Barcelona. The rest is history.
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#1 Paul Pogba
Pogba is a bright prospect that Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United let slip through their hands. He joined the Manchester United academy in 2009 and played with the club’s youth set up for nearly a year-and-a-half before he was slowly drafted into the first team setup.
Ahead of the 2011-12 season, Ferguson confirmed that Pogba would feature with the senior team. He played regularly for the reserves side that season and on 19 October 2011, he was named in the team to play Leeds United in the League Cup. Pogba made his first senior appearance for United after he came on as a half-time substitute and later made his league debut as a substitute in the same season.
Pogba left Manchester United at the end of the season after deciding not to sign a new contract and signed for Italian side Juventus. He was a key member of the Juventus side that won back-to-back Serie A titles. His performances for the club have earned him numerous admirers and there is plenty of speculation about his future, but Juventus have managed to retain the services of the 21-year-old this season.
His performances didn’t go unnoticed as the youngster won the Golden Boy award in 2013, given to the best U-21 player in Europe. The prestigious award was earlier won by players like Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli, Mario Gotze, Cesc Fabregas, Isco, Rafael van der Vaart and Alexandre Pato.
Pogba has represented France sixteen times so far in his career and scored three goals. He was also named the Best Young Player at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
He would be one player that Manchester United fans wish that they had kept at the club.
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