Manchester United’s deadline was very busy. The Red Devils announced a total of four signings – Edinson Cavani, Amad Diallo Traore, Alex Telles and Facundo Pellistri. However, this is not the first time United have signed big names at the eleventh hour.
Let us take a look at the past signings made by the club on deadline day:
Radamel Falcao
Coming off a disappointing season under David Moyes, Manchester United board appointed Dutch manager Louis Van Gaal in 2014. Hoping to rejuvenate the fallen giants, Van Gaal brought in Marcos Rojo, Victor Valdes, Ander Herera, Angel Di Maria, Luke Shaw, and Daley Blind.
Following the sale of Danny Welback to Arsenal and Javier Hernandez on loan to Real Madrid, the final piece of the puzzle was put in place when Manchester United bought Radamel Falcao on loan from Monaco. He was one of the most coveted strikers in the game and had been a key player for Porto and Atletico Madrid.
However, things didn’t go as planned.Falcao was coming off fresh from a six-month injury lay off and looked rusty to start. In 26 appearances, Falcao scored a meagre 4 goals, costing Manchester United a whopping £265,000 per week. Currently he is playing for Turkish outfit Galatasaray.
Daley Blind
Daley Blind was reunited with former Netherlands boss Van Gaal when he signed from Ajax for 13.8m. Capable of playing either as a defender or midfielder, Blind started as a defensive-midfielder and made his debut against Queens Park Rangers. The Dutch player played full 90 minutes as Manchester United secured their first victory of the season in the 4-0 drubbing of Queens Park Rangers.
Throughout his time at Old Trafford, Blind shuffled between left-back and defensive midfield before eventually becoming one of the most reliable center-backs in the team. He regularly featured at the heart of defense for the Red Devils until he was dropped from the team.
On July 2018, Blind rejoined his boyhood club in Amsterdam for fee of 16m where he regularly features as a center-back.
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney burst onto the English football scene as a teenager at Everton and was soon bought by Manchester United for a record fee paid for a teenager back in 2004 at £20m. The rest was history, quite literally.
Rooney went on to become Manchester United’s all-time leading goal scorer with 253 goals in 559 appearances. He defined a successful era and was one of the first names on the team sheet during his time with Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm.
Rooney returned to his boyhood club in July 2017 and after a year he found himself playing for D.C. United of Major League Soccer. Currently, he dons the number 32 shirt and plays for Championship side Derby County as a central midfielder.
Anthony Martial
Manchester United’s current number nine was signed from Monaco on the last day of the transfer window in 2015. The Red Devils broke their bank for the French forward and paid a reported fee of £36m, potentially rising to £58m on a 4-year deal. The player made an instant impact with the final goal of a 3-1 win over rivals Liverpool on his debut.
Martial featured heavily on the left of a front three for Jose Mourinho before enduring a season where he was constantly in and out of the side. Nevertheless, he kept making a comeback and won his first European trophy of his career when Manchester United won the Europa League in 2017.
Martial is a skilled dribbler and shows composure in front of goal. He is difficult to defend against and he scored his first hattrick on 24 June 2020 in a 3-0 home win against Sheffield United.
Dimitar Berbatov
Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov controversially signed from Tottenham Hotspurs on deadline day in 2008. Manchester United’s noisy neighbors Manchester City had locked a deal with Spurs for the Bulgarian’s signature. However, Alex Ferguson’s pull reigned supreme and the great manager even went out himself to pick up Berbatov from the airport.
Berbatov scored 14 times in all competitions for United asthe team won the Premier League title and Champions League in the 2008-09 season. He won his second Premier League in 2010-11 with a contribution of 20 goals- joint top scorer in the league with Carlos Tevez of Manchester City.
Berbatov joined Fulham in 2012 before representing Monaco, POAK and Kerala Blasters. He called time on his career in 2019.
Dimitar Berbatov scored 56 goals for Manchester United in 149 matches played.
Marouane Fellaini
After failing to make a signing following the exit of Alex Ferguson, Manchester United hit the panic button on deadline day of the transfer window in 2013 and signed Marouane Fellaini from Everton in a £27.5m deal.
Re-united with former Everton manager David Moyes, Fellaini could never become a popular figure at Old Trafford. He soon became the symbol ofdisappointment at the club.
Since 2013, Manchester United have failed to win the league and have seen rivals Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester City come from behind to win the league 6 times in last 7 years.
Despite signing a new contractin the season before,Fellaini joined Shandong LunengTaishan at the end of January 2019 after finding it hard to get game time under caretaker manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer.
Odion Ighalo
Manchester United’s most recent acquisition on deadline day: Odion Ighalo was signed on a loan from China where he played for Shanghai Shenhua FC.
With this move, Ighalo became the first ever Nigerian player to sign for Manchester United. Ighalo who previously had a stint with Watford, took a pay cut in order to play for his boyhood club in the Premier League.
Although, this move was heavily criticized by the fans and media, Ighalo did well in the limited matches he got a look in. He scored 5 goals in 19 appearances for the Red devils.
With his loan spell set to expire in the middle of the lockdown, Manchester United extended his stay at the club until 30 January 2021.
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