Ranking every Man Utd transfer of the post-Alex Ferguson era

Paul Macdonald

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:55 CDT
• 12 min read

Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United in the summer of 2013 after 13 league titles and 27 years of unbridled success.

But since then the destruction of Manchester United has begun, and one of the areas where their approach has been scattergun has been in the transfer market.

Ed Woodward was the supremo behind the players brought in from 2013 until the summer of 2021.

And we've decided to rank every major transfer Woodward was involved with during that period. For players who either didn't feature or very rarely, we've chosen to leave them out of the list.

KEY:

- HIT ✅

- 50/50 ❓

- MISS ❌

Manchester United transfers: 2013/14

Juan Mata (Chelsea, €44m)

Mata perhaps didn't at any point hit the heights at United that he managed in his best moments at either Valencia or Chelsea, but the Spaniard was still an excellent servant for the club.

He has stayed despite not featuring regularly in latter years and has been seen as an excellent mentor to some of the young talent at the club. His signing has been more than just what he's contributed on the pitch, and United have certainly achieved value for money across his nine-year stay.

VERDICT: HIT ✅

Marouane Fellaini (Everton, €32m)

Fellaini remains treated like a figure of fun but he was a far more useful player than the internet memes made out. The afro made it easy to make fun of him but he had his importance in certain plans.

Jose Mourinho liked to deploy him as an emergency forward to utilise his height but the Belgian was also excellent on the ball and was better than people made out. While probably never worth €32m, he still somewhat served a purpose.

VERDICT: 50/50 ❓

Manchester United transfers: 2014/15

Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid, €75m)

Signing Angel Di Maria made perfect sense. He was their record transfer at the time, having just helped Real Madrid to the Champions League with a man of the match performance in defeating Atletico Madrid in the final.

But he just didn't settle in the area and despite a promising start which featured a wonder goal against Leicester City, he was soon clamouring for an exit. United were able to save face by getting most of their money back from PSG, but it's a move that unquestionably did not pay off.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Radamel Falcao (€7.5m loan, Monaco)

Man Utd paid €7.5m to sign Radamel Falcao on loan from Monaco but it was an unmitigated disaster and a deal both were happy to end as soon as possible.

Falcao managed to score just four Premier League goals during his time at the club, and a career that promised so much elsewhere had little to no impact in England.

United had a position for a permanent move in excess of €50m, but they bailed out and Falcao moved on, ironically finding a second wind back at Monaco.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Luke Shaw (€37.5m, Southampton)

Shaw was considered England's most promising full-back when United spent a significant sum to sign the teenager from Southampton.

And Shaw has had his good spells in the team, looking like he can go on to be a key player for the club.

But ongoing injury and weight issues have plagued him and he's never quite become the player United - and others - thought he could become.

VERDICT: 50/50 ❓

Ander Herrera (€36m, Athletic Bilbao)

Ander was another player who showed glimpses of his quality across his time at Old Trafford but, ultimately, just didn't quite make the grade.

An exceptional passer but also excellent at screening defensively and was no stranger to making a tackle.

But, again, consistency was a problem and Herrera has appeared a better player when at Athletic, PSG and also for Spain - another indictment of United's team.

VERDICT: 50/50 ❓

Marcos Rojo (€20m, Sporting)

A defender who hung around at United so long that many people forgot he was still there, Rojo was an example of a player brought in because of contacts and availability rather than the needs of the team.

Rojo isn't a bad defender, but he arrived and his position in the team was never clear, even more so when Daley Blind arrived, another left-sided defender. There was no logic to the deal, and he stayed for a while due to the salary he was earning.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Daley Blind (€17m, Ajax)

Blind was seen as a disciple of Louis van Gaal and faced unnecessary criticism as a result, but once again he is a player who has excelled everywhere except at United.

Blind was perhaps not imposing enough physically for the league but has remained one of the finest passing defenders in Europe - one that United, ironically, have been linked with signing for a second time.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

▶️ All Manchester United transfers

Victor Valdes (Free, Barcelona)

A baffling signing, Valdes had been one of the best goalkeepers in the world at Barcelona but was already well past his best by the time he arrived at Old Trafford.

He barely saw any action whatsoever and United fans these days may struggle to remember he was ever there.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Manchester United transfers: 2015/16

Anthony Martial (€60m, Monaco)

For a brief spell Martial looked to be everything United were looking for, a Thierry Henry-like finisher who could score for fun and finish from any one-on-one situation.

Then life got in the way for the teenager, who had personal problems and who has struggled to progress his game in the time since.

Martial remains young and there is hope he can return something positive in the future, but his latest Sevilla loan spell was a disaster, and United would be happy to cut their losses this summer.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Memphis Depay (€34m, PSV)

Another gifted attacker who was meant to deliver excitement, goals and thrilling performances, and who failed on every count.

With the number of young, talented players this has happened to, it surely becomes more about the club than the player, but while Depay perhaps was never truly top level, he has shown laterally at Lyon and in spells with the Netherlands that he has an ability United never got remotely close to unlocking.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Morgan Schneiderlin (€35m, Southampton)

It's difficult to understand what type of footballer Manchester United thought they were signing. But it certainly wasn't a middling defensive midfielder on the same level or below what they already had available.

And he wasn't cheap, either. A real, genuine misfire both in terms of the scouting and the impact. A really avoidable deal.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Bastian Schweinsteiger (€7m, Bayern Munich)

When Man Utd signed Schweinsteiger, it's fair to say he wasn't the same player he used to be.

He was booked just eight minutes into his debut and served a three-match ban in December for hitting West Ham's Winston Reid.

He was sent to train with the U23s and failed to start a single game for over a year after that, joining Chicago Fire in March 2017.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Matteo Darmian (€18m, Torino)

Darmian is one of many, many, many full-back options that United have tried, and failed, to make a regular started on either flank.

The Italian just didn't integrate himself into the side in any meaningful way and his period at Old Trafford is so forgettable that his period in Italy is where you would be forgiven for thinking he has spent his entire career.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Manchester United transfers: 2016/17

Paul Pogba (Juventus, €105m)

Pogba should have been a slam dunk. A fantastic player returning from where he had been before, to show the Premier League what he could do.

And at times, he truly did. There were two seasons during his stay where he threatened to emerge as the best midfielder in the league, with sublime passing and technique that made him a standout performer.

But it was always only fleeting, a passing moment of genius amidst all too many injuries, sulks and underachievements. The transfer seemed a perfect deal, but like most things associated with United, it failed to materialise.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Dortmund, €42m)

Mkhitaryan's Dortmund form suggested he would also be a logical fit for Premier League and Jose Mourinho certainly agreed, spending big to bring him to Old Trafford and feature predominantly on the right.

And it started reasonably well. A winner at home to Tottenham was a standout but it never really got much better than that, and in the end he was bundled off to Arsenal in another dreadful deal, this time involving Alexis Sanchez.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Eric Bailly (Villarreal, €38m)

Once again, while appearing slightly overpriced, Bailly looked like he had the capability of coping with the rigours of the Premier League quite easily, but once the initial injuries arrived he never recovered.

Both his form and his place in the term suffered as a result and he fell so far down the pecking order that cup ties were his only exposure to first-team action. A real letdown.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG, Free))

The only pity with Zlatan is that injury impacted his true involvement to just a single season, but it was a pretty good season all things considered.

He was a free transfer but one with still plenty to offer even at a later stage in his career, and his goal return was more than worth the year spent paying him after knee troubles struck. All things considered, a pretty good deal for United.

VERDICT: HIT ✅

▶️ All Manchester United transfers

Manchester United transfers: 2017/18

Romelu Lukaku (€84m, Chelsea)

Lukaku's move from Everton to Manchester United was, again, seemingly answering a problem that United needed to solve; lacking a focal point centre-forward, Lukaku seemed like a perfect fit.

And yet, once more, it failed to happen. Lukaku scored goals, sure, but failed to live up to the huge fee and eventually Mourinho grew tired of his first touch issues and general lack of presence.

He was shipped out to Inter, where he was fantastic, but maybe his recent failure at Chelsea shows how this one perhaps wasn't entirely United's fault.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Nemanja Matic (€45m, Chelsea)

Matic was signed by Mourinho to be the player that he had previously had at Chelsea and, unfortunately for United, he was already well past his best.

The fact that he is still there - barely - is testament to the systematic problems that the club have faced in finding anyone remotely talented to play in the midfield pivot.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Victor Lindelof (€35m, Benfica)

Lindelof's spell at United hasn't been nearly as bad as some fans would make out; he's been consistently paired with below-par colleagues on either side of him, and it hasn't allowed him to show his best.

But some of United's finest defensive spells where they weren't conceding goals coincided with the Swede's best moments, and he still may have something to give to the club.

VERDICT: 50/50 ❓

Alexis Sanchez (Swap, Arsenal)

A disaster. A €600k per week disaster, no less.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Manchester United transfers: 2018/19

Fred (€59m, Shakhtar Donetsk)

Fred's Manchester United career has been by no means the disaster that some would like to paint it as - he has had good spells in the correct matches and in the correct circumstances.

But United thought they were getting their own Fernandinho, a generational midfield general, and he was never going to be that.

Ultimately, they got a solid if unspectacular player that couldn't move them to the next level, and that really shouldn't cost €60m.

VERDICT: 50/50 ❓

Diogo Dalot (€22m, Porto)

The most damning thing you can say about Dalot is that he has been at United four years, including loan spells, and the margin of his impact is utterly minimal - at best.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka's signing effectively froze him out of the right back position and though he played more under Ralf Rangnick, his limitations were laid as bare as his contemporary.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Manchester United transfers: 2019/20

Harry Maguire (€87m, Leicester City)

Maguire has only fleetingly looked close to the fee United paid for him, but then that was never really his fault.

What has been his fault, however, is some baffling positional errors, errant passing, and generally high-profile mistakes which then bring every single aspect of his game into question.

Make no mistake that Maguire can play football - he showed it at Leicester, and regularly does so for England. But they have systems that protect his limitations and, unfortunately, United have failed miserably to do that.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Bruno Fernandes (€55m, Sporting)

Fernandes has unquestionably filled a huge gap that was missing in the United team for quite some time.

The playmaking role had really only been played by Wayne Rooney before that, as he moved backwards down the field. But Fernandes took that position to a whole new level and reinvigorated their attack.

Comfortably one of the most productive players in the Premier League, Fernandes will remain a key part of United's side going forward.

VERDICT: HIT ✅

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (€55m, Crystal Palace)

In Wan-Bissaka's defence, he was signed to be a different player from the one he is.

The Palace incarnation was a superb defender, consistently making interceptions and challenges and generally proving difficult to get past.

But a full-back at Manchester United needs so much more than that at the other end of the pitch and, unfortunately, AWB doesn't have that in his locker.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

▶️ All Manchester United transfers

Manchester United transfers: 2020/21

Donny van de Beek (€40m, Ajax)

A €40m signing who made just four Premier League starts in 18 months without injury - poor Donny didn't stand a chance.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could not have made it any more clear that he had no position for him in the team, and so therefore refused to play him, or even bring him on.

A monumental disaster and a head-scratching decision to bring him in.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Amad Diallo (€21m, Atalanta)

Diallo may very well yet turn out to be a useful asset for Manchester United, but it hasn't been reflected in appearances as of yet.

He was reduced largely to cameos off the bench during his loan spell at Rangers, and it's fair to say at the moment that his future remains very much up in the air.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Alex Telles (€15m, Porto)

Compared to some other full-back options United have signed, Telles is one who has shown glimpses of what he could potentially offer with an extended run in the side.

He's yet to get that, and much will depend on the arriving manager. But Telles is likely to hang around and United could still get some benefit from this signing.

VERDICT: 50/50 ❓

Manchester United transfers: 2021/22

Jadon Sancho (€85m, Dortmund)

Sancho has been surprised as many others as to how poor United have been at times this season, and it's fair to say that the young English winger hasn't lived up to expectations.

But in an organisation this dysfunctional, it can be hard to stand out. In Sancho's defence he kept going and actually looked as if he was starting to turn things around.

He isn't there yet, but the logic in this signing comes from the obvious talent, and there's still time for Sancho to be a success.

VERDICT: 50/50 ❓

Raphael Varane (€40m, Real Madrid)

For a player with the reputation of Varane his arrival has been a gigantic disappointment.

When he has played, he hasn't played well, and when he's not playing badly, he's injured. It's the type of transfer where you can't but wonder whether Real Madrid knew precisely what they were doing when they offloaded him onto United.

VERDICT: MISS ❌

Cristiano Ronaldo (€15m, Juventus)

If we leave aside the tactical issues, and what Ronaldo doesn't do in a United shirt, it's clear they would be much worse off without him this season.

In a team bereft of any attacking verve Ronaldo has dragged them to points on numerous occasions through sheer strength of will, and of course brilliant finishing.

It looks like he's hanging around for another season, but United's league record could have looked a whole lot worse had this deal never happened.

VERDICT: HIT ✅

▶️ All Manchester United transfers