Ultimate United
United's Previous Deadline Day Signings 31 Aug 2017 22:12
As the summer transfer window draws to a close, we take a look at Manchester United’s previous last minute deals.
By Frank Mead, Editor
Manchester United’s summer business appears to be already done, with José Mourinho seemingly content to stick with what he already has as his disposal. He has made no secret of the fact that he wanted four signings in particular, and has acquired three of them. He has also tied down Zlatan Ibrahimovi? for a further year, although he was not originally on that list.
It is only in recent years that United have been particularly active on the last day of the summer transfer window. Sir Alex Ferguson only ever made two signings on the last day, albeit high profile ones. Since his retirement, however, United have made quite a few last minute signings, with varied success.
2004 – Wayne Rooney
Ferguson had long earmarked Wayne Rooney for a place at Old Trafford, well before his barnstorming Euro 2004 performances. He had handed in a transfer request at Everton at the beginning of August, after turning down a £50,000 per week contract that would have made him the club’s highest ever earner. Newcastle United made a £20 million bid which was rejected by the Toffees, but on the final day of the window, Ferguson made his move.
United paid £27 million for the 18 year old striker, but had to wait a few weeks while he recovered from the injury that ended his participation in Euro 2004 prematurely. It was, however, worth the wait as he blasted a hat trick past Fenerbahçe on his debut. 13 years later, he returned to Goodison Park as both Manchester United and England’s all-time top scorer, and a legend for both.
2008 – Dimitar Berbatov
When Manchester United broke their own personal transfer record in 2008, it looked like they were about to become unstoppable. With an attack that already included Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, adding Berbatov would surely cause nightmares for any defence. At Tottenham, the Bulgarian had scored 46 goals in two seasons, earning him a place in the official Premier League team of the season in his first year.
The transfer was not as straight forward as it might have seemed. This was also the day that Sheikh Mansoor completed his takeover of Manchester City, and Tottenham accepted a bid from them, before United stepped in to match it. The deal was completed with minutes to spare, and he made his debut at Anfield a fortnight later.
Over four seasons at Old Trafford, Berbatov scored 56 goals, winning two Premier League titles and two League Cups. In spite of his immense talent, he never looked like he would become the main man at United. This was highlighted by the fact that he didn’t start either of the two Champions League finals United reached in that time. He didn’t even make the bench for the 2011 one.
When Ferguson signed Robin van Persie from Arsenal in 2012, Berbatov accepted a cut-price move to Fulham. Following spells in France and Greece, with Monaco and PAOK respectively, he recently signed for Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters.
2013 – Marouane Fellaini
A player who will always divide opinion amongst Manchester United fans. After David Moyes chased and then hesitated over several potential signings after succeeding Alex Ferguson, his last minute deadline day move for the Belgian was seen as a desperation signing by many. One of the reasons for this is that Fellaini had a clause in his contract that expired midway through the summer. Had Moyes acted sooner, he could have bought him for £4 million less than the £27.5 million they ended up paying. Instead they had tried to get Fellaini and his team mate, Leighton Baines for that price. They got one for the price they wanted to pay for two!
In his four seasons at Old Trafford, Fellaini has infuriated some fans, who will claim that he is not a United player. His tendency to get attract the attention of the officials, leading to several unneccesary cards has also seen him singled out for criticism. One thing that is not in question, however, is the value his managers have placed upon him. Following Moyes’ sacking, both Louis van Gaal and Mourinho have integrated him as a key member of their squad. Their faith has been repaid in the fact that he has scored in each of United’s last three semi-finals, all of which were victories.
Whatever his haters may say, there can be no questioning his commitment to the cause. He gives 100% every time he puts on the red shirt, which is probably why his managers rate him so highly. When Galatasaray expressed an interest earlier in the summer, Mourinho himself said that they had more chance of signing him than Fellaini. This should tell you everything about his immediate future.
2013 – Saidy Janko
On the same day that United signed Fellaini, Moyes made another, less high profile purchase. Swiss wing-back Saidy Janko was signed from FC Zürich for an undisclosed fee. He made an immediate impression within the club, and was voted United’s Reserve Player of the Year in his first season.
This was as good as it would get for Janko, as he was handed his debut for the club in the 4-0 League Cup defeat to MK Dons. Although not the worst player on the pitch, he was substituted at half time and replaced by Andreas Perreira. This would turn out to be his only appearance for the club, and he was loaned to Bolton Wanderers the following January. He left permanently for Celtic in the summer of 2015, and now plays for French side Saint-Étienne.
2014 – Radamel Falcao
The only loanee on the list, and a painful experience it was too, for the player and the fans. Falcao was signed on a season-long loan from Monaco, who needed to relieve their astronomical wage bill. It became very apparent that van Gaal didn’t rate him, and that Falcao didn’t fit in with his style of play.
Looking back, it seems that this signing was a statement of intent, rather than a tactical signing. Having had a disastrous season that saw United not even qualify for the Champions League, it was as if Ed Woodward was determined to prove that United could still attract the biggest names. At this time, Falcao was seen as one of the best players on the planet, despite the injury that had robbed him of a place at that summer’s World Cup.
The Colombian scored just four goals for United, who decided not to make his deal permanent or extend his loan. In spite of his on-field struggles, which seemed to indicate he had lost a yard of pace, many United fans took Falcao to their hearts, and wanted him to stay. He joined Chelsea on a similar deal, and struggled even more than he had at Old Trafford. He is now back at Monaco, and has shown glimpses of the player he once was. Just a shame he couldn’t do that at United.
2014 - Daley Blind
At the same time United were tying up the Falcao deal, United were negotiating with Ajax for two of their players. The first of these was Daley Blind, the son of Dutch football legend Danny, who was the captain of van Gaal’s 1995 Champions League winning team.
Having come through Ajax’s famous youth system to become a full international, his profile fitted exactly what United seemed to be lacking; a defensive midfielder. Although he started his first few games for the club in that position, he has rarely featured there since his early days. His role has become something of a utility player, having been deployed mainly at left-back or in the centre of defence.
His lack of pace can sometimes count against him, but his technical ability is not in question. His versatility, added to the fact that he seems content to be a squad player, makes it likely that he will be at Old Trafford for years to come.
2014 – Tim Fosu-Mensah
Of the three signings that van Gaal made on the last day of the 2014 window, Fosu-Mensah’s gathered the least amount of headlines. It would be fair to say, however, that he is a player that many United fans have high hopes for. A monster of a player, who is primarily a midfielder, but can play anywhere across the back four.
After starring for the reserves in his first year, he was promoted to the senior squad during the 2015-16 season during an injury crisis. He made ten appearances under van Gaal, but rarely featured under Mourinho last term. Earlier this month, he was sent on a season-long loan to Crystal Palace, in the hope of gaining valuable Premier League experience. How he does in this spell will be key to whether he has a future under the Portuguese manager. He has, however, been called up to Holland’s senior squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
2015 – Regan Poole
The cheapest, and least known, of all the players in this list. The Welsh centre-back made his senior debut for his hometown club, Newport County, aged just 16. Fast forward a year, and having made almost twenty appearances, he joined Manchester United for a fee of £100,000, which could quadruple depending on his development.
Four months before his 18th birthday, Poole made his debut as a late substitute against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League. He has yet to feature under José Mourinho, and will spend this season on loan to League One side Northampton Town.
2015 – Anthony Martial
A signing that, quite literally, came out of nowhere. United hadn’t even been linked with Martial by any of the usual sources, when it was announced that they had made him the world’s most expensive teenager. The deal was a payment of £36 million upfront to Monaco, which could rise to almost £60 million with add-ons.
There was no denying that United needed reinforcements upfront, having let Robin van Persie move to Fenerbahçe earlier that summer. Martial made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut against Liverpool. He netted 17 times in his first season in England, finishing as the club’s top scorer. The most important of these was arguably against Everton in the F.A. Cup semi-final.
While his second season didn’t live up to his first, not helped in any way by off-field personal problems, Martial has begun this campaign impressively. After scoring against West Ham and Swansea, he was handed his first start of the season against Leicester City. Hopefully he will go on to prove that last season was just a blip, as the potential is there for all to see.
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