The 5 most questionable Manchester United winter signings in the last decade
Manchester United are one of the world’s biggest football clubs boasting one of the biggest fan bases in the football universe. When the team is not performing up to the massive standards that have been set in the past, even the most loyal supporters will demand new signings midway through the season.
Manchester United are a club that haven’t been shy to make some bold moves in the January window. While a large number of these signings have been extremely successful, a few of the January deals completed have been rather laughable.
Here are five worst winter signings made by Manchester United in the last 10 years.
Ritchie De Laet
Ritchie was a Stoke City player when Manchester United decided to sign him in January 2009. He was on loan at English 5th division side Wrexham when United decided to bring him to Old Trafford.
While he spent a little more than a year at United, he spent most of his playing time with the reserve squad, which meant he made just 3 league appearances before being shipped out. He had multiple loan spells at lower league clubs before joining Leicester in 2012.
Zoran Tosic
Tosic was signed from Partizan Belgrade in the winter of 2009. He made just 5 substitute appearances before the management realised he didn’t have the physique or the technical ability to survive in the world’s most competitive league.
He was then sent out on a short loan to FC Koln after which he was sold to CSKA Moscow in the summer of 2010.
Anders Lindegaard
Purchased from Aalesund in 2010, Lindegaard was seen as a goalkeeper who could potentially challenge De Gea for the starting spot. He spent more than 4 years at Manchester United but only managed a total of 29 appearances. He was finally sold to West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 2015.
Wilfried Zaha
Zaha arrived from Crystal Palace with massive weight on his shoulders. Touted to be the next big English star, the £15m signing was massively underwhelming during his stint in Manchester. He made just 4 appearances during his time at the club.
After a disappointing time at Old Trafford, he was eventually sold back to Palace in January 2015.
Victor Valdes
After being released by Barcelona at the end of the 14/15 season, Valdes was signed by Manchester United in the following January window. He was at the club for just about a year – a spell during which he made just 2 appearances.
After going on a loan spell to Standard Liege, Valdes went on to leave the club in the January window of the following season.