Sir Alex Ferguson has an eye for finding genius and he brings many good players to Old Trafford. But, as his last 10 signings show, not everyone can play for United.
Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as Manager of Manchester United in May 2013, but his ties to the club remain strong and he still has a huge influence to this day.
Ferguson was at the helm of the team for 27 years, establishing a master of kings at Old Trafford by developing the club's academy players and bringing in new players appropriately.
He always found good players in the transfer market and used them for himself, and overall he was quite successful. But such a long coaching career also means that Ferguson still has a time to look away.
Today, let's review Sir Alex Ferguson's last 10 signings.
"We like to sign potential players." In January 2013, Ferguson said after signing Zaha from Crystal Palace.
"We're good at developing players, which has been proven many times. Hopefully this lad enjoys playing here. ”
Zaha certainly has potential, with the team signing him for 5 1/2 years and paying a transfer fee of £10 million. But he didn't cash in on his talent at Old Trafford.
The winger has made just four appearances for the club and spent most of his time at Manchester United on loan to Cardiff City and old club Crystal Palace.
Ferguson may have expected him, but his successor Moyes didn't, with the young Zaha struggling at Manchester United.
"Back there (Crystal Palace), I think everything will go well. I really didn't know what to do. Zaha said in an interview. Zaha is now a legendary star for Crystal Palace, but his short Manchester United career was undoubtedly a failure.
In the summer of 2012, Van Persie joined Manchester United from Arsenal for a high profile of £24 million, which caused a lot of waves at the time.
Ferguson said: "Robin is a world-class striker with good results in both England and Europe. ”
"His talent doesn't need to be explained too much. He scored a lot of goals against his old club. He's well-rounded, he's very good at running and shooting. ”
Robin van Persie's Manchester United career has undoubtedly been a success. He made 105 appearances for United, contributing 58 goals and 21 assists, winning the Premier League title in his first season.
The Dutchman went to Fenerbahce after three years at the Theatre of Dreams, then returned to Feyenoord and retired in 2019. Currently, he works as an assistant coach at his debut club, Feyenoord.
When United signed Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund in July 2012, he was only 23 years old and had considerable potential.
The Japan international contributed 17 goals and 13 assists to Borussia Dortmund in the 11-12 season, winning the German league and cup doubles.
But at Old Trafford, everything wasn't going too well. Kagawa scored just six goals and 10 assists in 57 games for United, and is back at Borussia Dortmund two years later.
In fact, Kagawa's departure from Dortmund was a turning point in his career. After playing for Westphalia for the second time, he moved to Besiktas and Zaragoza.
In January, he moved to Greek side Thessaloniki, but he has yet to score for his new club.
In June 2012, Powell moved from Crewe to Manchester United for £3 million (up to £6 million).
'Joining Manchester United is really a dream come true. Powell, 18, said after coming to Old Trafford.
"I'm delighted to be playing under Sir Alex Ferguson with so many world-class players. It's my dream to play in the Premier League. ”
Unfortunately, his dream never became a reality. Powell made just nine appearances for United and scored just one goal in his debut against Wigan.
Powell was later loaned to Wigan, Leicester and Hull City, where he moved to Stoke City permanently in 2016.
Currently, he is already the ace striker for Stoke City, scoring six goals in 10 games this season.
Henriques is an 18-year-old striker signed by Manchester United from the University of Chile in the summer of 2012.
Ferguson said at the time: "Angelo meets the standards of a Manchester United player, he is skilled, attacking and talented in playing. ”
He played for Manchester United for three years but never got enough playing time. Having scored a goal in the pre-season in 13-14, he spent most of his time on loan with Wigan, Zaragoza and Dinamo Zagreb.
Later, he transferred to Atlas in Mexico and returned to his old club, the University of Chile. He now plays for Fortaleza in Brazil.
In the summer of 2012, Battner signed a five-year contract with Manchester United after joining Vitesse.
The left-back shined on his league debut, scoring goals against Wigan and assisting teammates in points, but that didn't last long.
Battner also won a Premier League title medal in the 12-13 season, but he failed to shake Evra's main position in the following season and was sold to Dynamo Moscow in June 2014.
He then moved on to the New England Revolution, Wittes, and Anderlecht. The 32-year-old plays for his hometown team Valwijk.
Even Manchester United fans may not remember the name. At the time, Viselli was a 19-year-old centre-back who signed from city rivals Manchester City in January 2012.
'United have a long history of developing young players and hopefully I can do that too. He said on arrival.
But he did not play for the first team and left in July 2013 after his contract expired.
Since then, Veselli has played for Ipswich, Bury, Empoli, Le Mans and other teams. He is now promoted to Serie A for Massalenetana, but the Albania international has yet to play this season.
There is no doubt that De Gea is Ferguson's success story in the transfer market. De Gea joined in June 2011 for £18.9 million, breaking the record for transfer fees for The English team's goalkeepers at the time.
As a replacement for Van der Sar, he proved to everyone that he was worth the money. Over the past 10 years at The Theatre of Dreams, De Gea has made 455 appearances for Manchester United, helping the club win the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League trophy.
At only 30 years old, he has continued his steady play this season and avoided last season's starting spell with Dean Henderson.
Aside from De Gea, Jones is the only player on the list who remains at United.
Jones has not played for the club since being injured in the FA Cup match against Tranmill in January 2020, but he has returned to train with the team in September.
Back in 2011, Jones was one of the most promising young centre-backs in the UK, initially playing for Blackburn.
United paid £16.5 million for him and made 224 appearances for the team. Jones is only 29 years old this year, and although his contract doesn't expire until June 2023, he's likely to leave next year.
Professor Young transferred from Aston Villa in 2011 for £17 million. He started out as a good winger and later developed into a player who could play multiple positions, but at the age of 36 he still had good qualities.
At the time, United beat Liverpool to sign the England international, who played for the team for nine years.
He moved to Inter Milan in 2020 and was successful in Italy, winning the Serie A title under Conte, becoming the first Englishman to win a Serie A title since the 60s, after Greaves and Higgins.
This summer, after his contract with Inter expired, he returned to the Premier League and returned to play for his old club Villa.
He has made seven appearances so far this season but has not come off the bench when he returns to play at Old Trafford.