Manchester United has been one of the most successful clubs in the 21st century, but not all of their transfer moves have been successful. The latest player to struggle at Old Trafford is loan signing Wout Weghorst, who joined United from Burnley in January to boost their attacking options but has struggled in front of goal and been dropped to the bench. Weghorst followed in the footsteps of fellow Dutchman Donny van de Beek, who arrived from Ajax in August 2020 for £35 million but failed to become a first-team regular before being loaned out to Everton in January 2022. Van de Beek has now returned but was still only being used as an impact substitute despite reuniting with former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman then suffered a season-ending injury to compound his miserable three years at the club.
The United End’s Tom McDermott has picked his own team of Red Devils flops, including Anders Lindegaard, who spent five forgettable seasons at the club supporting Edwin van der Sar and David de Gea. Alexander Buttner, who was part of the title-winning squad in 2013 but drifted to lesser-known teams after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, is also on the list. Marcos Rojo, signed by Louis van Gaal in 2014, spent more time in the treatment room and on the sidelines than on the pitch and struggled to cope with the rhythm of the English game. Guillermo Varela, David Moyes’ first transfer as Manchester United manager, was signed after impressing with his home club Penarol and in the South American youth championships but probably couldn’t handle the step up. Bebe, signed for £7.4 million in 2010, was recommended to Ferguson by his former assistant Carlos Queiroz, but the Scot later admitted that he hadn’t seen him play. Morgan Schneiderlin, who played over 30 times for United, struggled from the day he arrived after several impressive years at Southampton. Kleberson, the Brazil World Cup winner, just edges out Eric Djemba-Djemba. Kleberson joined at the same time as Cristiano Ronaldo and after some decent early showings completely lost his way.
Wilfried Zaha was Ferguson’s last signing at the club but wasn’t the polished attacker he is today and became a club legend at Palace, their record Premier League goalscorer. Memphis Depay lacked the maturity at United to establish himself properly but has rebuilt his career well. Angel Di Maria, who joined with great excitement but never really wanted to be there in the first place, and Alexis Sanchez, who never hit the form he did at Arsenal, complete the list of United’s worst XI of the 21st century.