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Top five Manchester United disappointing signings: Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira, Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, Gabriel Obertan, Nick Powell and Wilfried Zaha.

With the transfer period currently underway, clubs are looking to find the right talent to bolster their side for the upcoming season. But some signings don’t turn out as expected. 

Manchester United arguably England’s premier team have produced and acquired some amazing talent over the years, but at the same time a few signings have not been fruitful and have been, dare I say flops . 
Top five Manchester United disappointing signings



Here are five players who failed to make an impact in a united shirt in the last ten years.

1. Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira: Commonly known as “Anderson”. The tough box to box midfielder joined the Red Devils in 2005 from the Portuguese side FC Porto in a big money move. At that time regarded as one of Brazil’s rising star.  The Brazilian midfielder in his seven and a half stay at Manchester mustered up only 105 appearances scoring just five goals. He spent most of his time in the sidelines with injuries and a few failed loan spells. The midfielder failed to make not only a name but also an impact for the Red Devils. In February 2015 Anderson left Manchester United to join Brazilian side Internacional side on a four-year deal.

2. Tiago Manuel Dias Correia: Better known by his nickname as Bebe. Manchester United had high expectations for the young Portuguese attacker, the club having witnessed the astronomical rise of one Portuguese star by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo. The fans as well as management had high hopes in Bebe. Sir Alex Ferguson having admitted he had never watched Bebe play before his move to move to Manchester, he was recommended by former Manchester United assistant Carlos Queiroz.  The Portuguese attacker however failed to make an impression having made just two senior appearances for the Red Devils and spent most of his time on loan. On 25th July 2014 Bebe signed for the Portuguese side Benfica on a four-year contract where later he was loaned to Cordoba FC and currently he is on a one year loan for Spanish side Rayo Vallecano.

3. Gabriel Obertan: The French winger known for his skill and blistering pace made a name for himself in Ligue 1 for FC Bordeaux, and quickly attracted interest from many big clubs in Europe, and on 6th July 2009 Obertan signed for Manchester United for a deal worth around 3 million. It took not long for the French winger to break into the Manchester United senior team, promoted after playing three games for the reserve team. However Obertan found in difficult to break into the starting eleven managing just fourteen senior appearances in his Manchester United career. Having failed to impress at Manchester United, Obertan left the Red Devils and Joined another Premier League side Newcastle United for a five-year deal on 9th August 2011 where he still currently plays.

4. Nick Powell: The highly rated English midfielder who was signed by Manchester United to replace the great Paul Scholes as young Powell’s style of play was considered similar to that of the United legend. The young midfielder attracted interest from a host of major English clubs but ignored interest from the others and signed for Manchester United from League two side Crewe side after his impressive displays for a whopping fee around six million. The midfielder just managed to make two substitute appearances for the senior side and was later loaned onto Wigan Athletic where the youngster enjoyed a fruitful loan spell scoring seven goals in 32 appearances. Having undergone an impressive loan campaign, Powell returned to United for the 2014-2015 campaign where he played just one game against Milton Keynes Dons in the League Cup, and in September he was loaned to Premier League new entrants Leicester City where he made his debut in November against West Bromwich Albion but his loan spell was cut short as the Foxes boss Nigel Pearson was not impressed with the youngsters lack of commitment towards training and he was sent back to United.  The midfielder is currently nursing an injury and hoping to impress Louis Van Gaal with only a year left in his contract for Manchester United.

5. Wilfried Zaha: The pacey English youngster was considered as a future England star. Signed from Crystal Palace by Sir Alex Ferguson who saw potential in this English youngster where he made his name against Manchester United in the FA Cup where Crystal Palace beat United. Zaha signed for Manchester United in the January transfer in 2013 for a fee around 15 million. But he was immediately sent back on loan to Crystal Palace for the remainder of the season. Zaha made only two senior appearances under new manager at that time David Moyes and subsequently fell out of favour and in January 2014 was loaned to Cardiff City and after that went to Crystal Palace on a season long loan where he impressed and later signed a permanent deal for his old club. 

No Doubt, these five players had immense talent, maybe they found it hard to adapt to a big club or being sidelined most of the time with injuries or simply not just good enough.  Every club irrespective of how big or small the club is do not always make the right transfer sometimes a few wrong signings are made.  With Van Gaal having already made five signings this season let’s see if any of those big name do well for United or crumble like these names.




Joshua Ronald Ivan, follow him on Twitter.

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