Will Man Utd sack Ruben Amorim like Liverpool sacked Roy Hodgson? Or do Man Utd need to learn to suffer?

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Man Utd have made a cock-up
I’m staggered that there hasn’t been a slew of mails about the new Manchester United manager stating, halfway through the season, with the team seven points clear of the bottom three (that will probably remain the bottom three) that his team are under the threat of relegation. Perhaps it says something about the expectations of the fans that he appears to have gotten away with this with no criticism.

I am all for giving managers time, but in saying that, Roy Hodgson had enough time at Liverpool to demonstrate that he was the wrong man for the job, and I don’t think any sane person would suggest that the club made a mistake by binning him six months into his tenure.

I think that United will do well to consider that they may have made an appalling (if understandable) mis-step here, and, should results continue on the same arc going into the new year, they should think about confronting this error.

Look at the facts – the team has gone worrying backwards, results are historically bad, a manager who inherited a misfiring midtable team is dragging them into a relegation battle, players are being humiliated publicly, the manager seems to be ridiculously casual and lacking passion, and he will obviously continue running a formation that the squad is ill-equipped for.

It will take two to three transfer windows (at best) to rebalance the squad sufficiently, and does anyone outside of the pathologically blinkered Bad Wolf actually have any confidence that the team will remain healthy enough over the next 18-24 months to justify keeping Amorim in situ?

They’re in a real hole here. No-one really wants to see managers being binned within months, and we all know that new managers (usually) need time to bed in etc, but how low can United go before the (clearly out of their depth) people who are running the club face up to the fact that they may have made a mistake? If United actually end in a relegation dogfight, should they stand by Amorim?

I’m loving every minute of it, obviously.
Mat (looking over my shoulder at Arsenal, the title is between the top two and I fancy Arsenal to start gnawing away at that lead)

READ: Lopetegui and Postecoglou clear Sack Race leaders but Amorim on his way to joining them

No pain, no gain
A quick reminder of all the things fans were shouting about when Ten Hag was sacked (or indeed any of our Utd’s recent managers):

– We need a manager with a clear style of play
– We don’t want another Ole style ‘bounce’, we want to fix for the long term (process, Arteta yada yada)
– We will accept that we may need to suffer before we see the fruits of a long term plan
– We need a manager strong enough to stick to the plan
– We need a manager that is honest with the fanbase (ala Rangnick’s ‘open heart surgery’)
– We need a manager that can instill discipline to players who have too much power
– We need a manager strong enough to drop players that are unable to meet the standards required

Utd fans are getting everything they asked for. There is not much really to complain about. Admittedly Amorim may simply not be able to walk the walk, we just don’t know yet. But the talk coming out of him is exactly what we asked for. I saw complaints in the mailbox saying ‘where was Rashford when we needed a goal’. Seriously? Fans were offering to drive him to the airport as little as a week ago. There can be no complaints about it. The manager talked about the standards he required from his players before even arriving.

The truth is, to really ‘get what we want’, nobody could possibly anticipate what we might need to go through as a club because, at every previous opportunity to fix things, we’ve bottled it. Sacked the manager in hope of an immediate bounce (and often got it). Or put the pressure on to such an extent that they’ve had to fall back into old systems in order to cling on to a job. And to hear the talk that ‘he won’t last as has already lost the dressing room’.

Well, join the club Ruben, how managers is that now? If that’s the case then I am utterly embarrassed for those players – asked to work to his plan, asked to meet his standards and then giving up after the first bollocking. Let’s hope he can quickly lose everyone from that dressing room that can’t handle the honest home truths.

It would be really nice if all fans of all clubs (including our own), who have universally slated United for ‘not having a plan’ or ‘not having a style of play’ or ‘thinking they’re still a big club’ or ‘having a clueless manager’ etc to simply leave the manager to get on with doing exactly what everyone, everywhere has been telling the manager to do.

Taaaaaa
CDog (do feel sorry for Zirkzee. But there are 2 ways to respond, run away from it or face into it)

Confronting the Aura
Niall from Annapolis’ email about big clubs with multiple rivals got me thinking. A team like Man Utd have big close rivals yes, and this probably factored into Klopp’s record. But there is still a lingering ‘aura’ around Man Utd, despite how hilarious they’ve become.

As a Newcastle fan, I approached Monday’s game with genuine trepidation because it was Man Utd away. I then watched the first 30 minutes in awe at how much of a stroll it was, and I’ve watched it back a few times still in disbelief. We really should have been 4 or 5 up and then the banter could have started. But although we eased off a bit, they inexplicably put us under a bit of pressure, and it felt for 30 mins or so that our biggest Man Utd enemy, the ‘aura’ had returned.

That aura has felt like a 12th man over the years. Whether it be Fergie time, ‘big club’ intimidation or (mostly) just being an excellent Premier League team, you always felt like you were playing against some unknown extra dimension, a bit like Real Madrid in the Champions League. Growing up in the nineties and noughties I naturally hated the effect they had on our chances of a trophy but as I’ve gotten older I’ve had respect for the sheer behemoth of a club they became after 20 years of dominance.

I did however grow up thinking Liverpool were just another team who were beatable, because their dominance was before my time (despite our struggles against them too). Man City have swatted us and others aside for well over a decade, but it’s usually with such comfort that I’ve never felt that psychological effect.

For some niggly reason, most likely said effect of Fergie/Keegan Meltdown/our terrible record against them I can’t help but think if they get a few things right, that aura will grow again and give them that edge once more. I genuinely believe without the extra weight that is against most teams when they play Man Utd, then they’d be a lot closer to the very bottom of the league, and that’s why I don’t think they have any real threat of relegation, however comical that would be. I only feel like the aura completely disappears if they carry on being absolutely sh*te for so long that the generational anxiety disappears.

Does anyone else feel the same?
Harry, York

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Kick out the foreigns says woman in New Zealand
Hi, I am sending this from New Zealand – I have been an avid Man U fan since George Best days and can honestly say that this is the worst bunch of overpaid egos I have ever seen. They don’t seem to have respect for the club history and pride, all they want is money.

I am of the thought that we should blood the youngsters in the junior ranks who have grown up with the understanding of the club and its culture and will take a huge amount of pride playing for Man U and well they should.

Give Amorim a clean slate, kick these lazy foreigners out to touch and rebuild this club to the heights it deserves.

Bring back the Glory Glory Man Utd days 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Marilyn😊

Trent and the contract conundrum
Happy New Year everyone!

I just thought I would add my tuppence to the chat regarding the contract of Trent. The other two are a discussion best saved for another day, but regarding TAA I feel that a rather obvious issue is being ignored by a great many people…

Let’s go back 24 months and put ourselves in the shoes of Liverpool’s financially astute owners. We have a 24yr old home grown, world class full back on the books. He is already on a significant amount of money but has a little over 2 years left on his contract so it is time to start renegotiating. They will have contacted his agent and requested talks regarding a new contract.

Now, a lot of people believe that because TAA never signed a contract up till this point, that the club have been negligent in conducting the talks. This opinion is slightly more robust because there are 2 other world class players who seem far more content to renew also running out of contract, and one of them has publicly stated that he has not been offered any new contract.

But these 2 players and Trent are very different in the eyes of the club. TAA is nailed on for a renewal. There is no situation, barring his legs being crippled, where Liverpool gain by letting him run his contract down. The other 2 there is a definite discussion on money at least, and likely on other aspects too.

Yes, Trent would be due a pay rise and that would slightly increase costs but due to his very high existing pay, any increase is going to be manageable, certainly for a player of his age and his quality. I’m sure they would have been trying, but you can’t negotiate without a player…

So why didn’t he want to enter into negotiations? Well, I think you have to start by looking at the situation 2 years ago when this process would have started. We were in the middle of the worst start to a season under Klopp. On the 1st Jan 2023 we were sitting 6th in the league and already out of the title race. We were 4 points from the top 4 and at our absolute nadir in terms of performance. We would not qualify for the Champions league this season. It is also the case that we have not won either the prem or Champions League for 3 years.

It is at this point we are trying to tie down our world class full back who has already won everything at Liverpool but is under used at international level and perhaps under appreciated by everyone of a non-red persuasion. Now, I am not saying he was expecting to walk into Real Madrid 30 months later, but it was certainly understandable that at the time, with that level of uncertainty, he was not interested in discussing contract terms.

So, another 6-12 months go by. We now have 16-18 months of contract to go but by November 2023, Klopp had decided he was leaving and informed the group. The world-class manager who had dragged the club from mediocrity to the summit was exhausted and on his final lap. Again, the club would be knocking, this time rather more loudly on Trent’s agent’s door, but with his manager and friend just about to leave and Liverpool only recently improving its disastrous form, it’s likely he wouldn’t want to commit to the last big contract of his football career with an important unknown in who will be managing unresolved. Again, Trent’s advisors make it clear they are not interested in discussing terms at this stage.

And for those who don’t know, there is absolutely nothing you can do as a club if the player in unwilling to discuss terms. I mean you can have a stab in the dark and throw a contract at the player, but Liverpool being Liverpool, and knowing any unrequested talks are unlikely to be entered into unless the contract offer was absolutely exorbitant, are going to have to just sit on their hands and wait for the player. So, the wait goes on.

Now we are into the current season and the last 12 months of Trent’s contract. At some point in 2024 Real Madrid have let it be known they’re interested. This has greatly complicated things for everyone. Perhaps the only club TAA would consider leaving a successful Liverpool for, have entered the race.

Slot has started well, so good for Liverpool and their hope of keeping the player, but TAA’s form as a more conventional RB has also been exemplary. His value to Real is going up by the game, particularly as their ageing RB goes down with an ACL injury. Whether he will stay or go is anyone’s guess, but I absolutely guarantee you this is a problem created by one party and affecting the other.

Trent and his advisors have played their hand wonderfully. He has a pick between the biggest club in the world who will pay him absolutely crazy money because they can sign him on a free (reports state a £100m signing-on fee spread over 5 years…) or he will sign with him hometown club that he’s supported his whole life, having extracted absolutely every last penny Liverpool can afford because they’re desperate not to lose a £100m player for free.

My guess is he’ll be playing in the sunshine in bright white come September 2025…
Alex Noon

Middle class chat
While the rich clubs have got richer, the fact is that the increased money in the EPL has relatively had a greater impact on the mid-tier clubs.

Yes, the usual UCL crew are the only ones able to shop consistently in the +50m category, however now everyone else is able to afford the best of the rest, as well as pay good enough salaries so as its not day and night between being a starter for e.g. Everton vs squad member at Arsenal/United in terms of salary.

Hence it’s much easier for clubs to retain talent. And it’s not the life changing move in terms of money to just take a move for a squad place.

Add to this now much stronger coaching teams and tactics from some of the most talented European coaches and City/united calamity aside the middle of the EPL has never been stronger; and will only continue to do so.

The next 4-5 years could really see a big shift in who is seriously challenging for Europe. First we saw Newcastle break in, then Villa last season and now it’s amazing seeing Fulham, Forest not just punching above their weight but showing what can be achieved with a strong team spirit and well assembled squad and Tactics.

Spurs should have been 1st in the queue to break through but it’s comforting that while the balance is shifting, some things just remain the same as it ever was.
Hats

Stop trying to sell Isak
I appreciate that players are always going to be talked about and rumoured to move and agents like to stoke the fire. But this obsession with Isak leaving Newcastle is getting ridiculous.

Carragher and Jones on Monday night practically falling over themselves to get him to talk about moving. Appreciate Jones is a massive Mackem and Carragher is a massive…but no one goes on like this about the so-called top six. It was bordering on being embarrassing.

Merson and Henry Winter have also joined the party this week with comical comments, poor Henry horrified that we would dare consider putting a £150m price tag on one of the best forwards in Europe, we don’t want to sell him! It doesn’t seem to matter that the player himself has said he is happy and doesn’t discuss anything mid season and has made no noise about leaving. Still they keep on crying that a team outside the closed shop mafia can dare to have a top player who is happy to be there.

Add this to the comments such as ‘if Pep wants him Bruno will go’ and the daily ‘Liverpool Gordon plan takes shape.’ And the odd ‘Tonali not happy’ and this sums up most of the Newcastle coverage. Oh apart from the ‘Eddie Howe not good enough’ brigade. I guess this comes with the territory and yes to keep the calibre of players like this we need to continue to progress but why at the moment would any of them want to leave? Especially for bottle jobs like Arsenal or a City side in decline and likely facing some sort of sanction.
Steve (NUFC)

Manchester United are exploring a possible solution to their ongoing Marcus Rashford problem with a ‘stunning’ January swap deal involving a Chelsea target.

Ruben Amorim is said to be ‘desperate’ to strengthen his squad this month after a miserable start to his life as head coach at Old Trafford, losing four of his first 11 matches and declaring relegation to be “a possibility”.

The club’s defensive record has not been particularly strong but ten sides have conceded more Premier League goals so far this season, while only four have scored fewer.

Rasmus Hojlund is Manchester United’s top scorer under Amorim with five goals, with the two players tied in second underlining the Portuguese’s teething problems.

One is Joshua Zirkzee, who was ‘reduced to tears’ and already wants to leave after supporters cheered his early substitution in the defeat to Newcastle.

The other is Marcus Rashford, who has played no part of the club’s last five games and only returned to the bench as an unused substitute in the Newcastle game, having been dropped over a perceived fall in standards.

“We try to evaluate everything, training performance, game performances, engagement with team-mates, push their team-mates up,” Amorim said after Rashford was first omitted from a matchday squad.

“Everything is on the line when we analyse and try to choose the players. It is my selection. Simple.

“I don’t want to send a message it is simply an evaluation and they know it. The players are really, really smart. Everybody understands my decision and I have to choose. It is simple selection.

“Of course the context is difficult because we have to win games and we have a difficult situation now. I pay attention to everything, the way you eat, the way you put your clothes to go to a game. Everything. I make my evaluation and then I decide.”

Rashford declared himself “ready for a new challenge and the next steps” in December but with a contract running until 2028 on wages as high as £365,000 a week, his options beyond trying to earn back a Manchester United starting place are limited.

The 27-year-old has ruled out a move to Turkey and rejected three massive offers from Saudi Arabia, one of which would have earned him as much as £675,000 a week.

Having felt compelled to release a 28-word statement rejecting recent transfer speculation, Rashford might yet offer a response to the latest stories suggesting he will be involved in a ‘stunning’ January swap deal.

Amorim is ‘desperate’ to improve his squad this month and while ‘a big windfall’ for Rashford would be useful to help comply with Profit and Sustainability Rules, The Sun reports that England international could be used as a pawn to help secure another target.

Victor Osimhen has been linked with Manchester United over the past couple of months, including when a ‘crazy plan’ was hatched to try and sign him, and Napoli’s own interest in Rashford has raised the prospect of a mutually beneficial series of transfers.

Both clubs stand to be financially rewarded as Manchester United rate Rashford at £60m, while Osimhen has a £62m release clause. The Nigerian forward has been similarly ostracised in Italy and having spent the first half of the season scoring 12 goals in 15 games on loan at Galatasaray, is available for a permanent move.

Antonio Conte wanted Osimhen ‘frozen out’ after a planned summer move to Chelsea collapsed and his ‘interest’ in Rashford could see both clubs pursue some sort of player exchange.

Jamie Carragher has blasted Manchester United co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS for their baffling decisions which have left Ruben Amorim vulnerable.

Amorim was appointed on a two-and-a-half-year contract in November to replace Erik ten Hag, but any hope he would bring about immediate positive change has already been extinguished.

The Portuguese has lost five of his first 11 games and declared Manchester United, 14th in the Premier League table and seven points clear of the bottom three, to be in a relegation battle.

But the responsibility for this ‘mess’ can only really be apportioned to those who backed Erik ten Hag through a laughable summer job review before sacking him a couple of months into the season and bringing in a coach who philosophy centres around a formation the squad is miserably unsuited to.

Jamie Carragher reckons Manchester United ‘might have found the right man for the job and hired him at the worst time’.

‘The club’s hierarchy has a lot to answer for,’ he writes in his latest column for the Daily Telegraph. ‘Appointing the prime target as soon as possible is understandable.

‘What is harder to explain is this: how could you have given a £200 million budget to a lame-duck coach who plays 4-2-3-1 four months before recruiting a manager who plays three central defenders and wing-backs?’

Amorim has already rejected the suggestion that he should show more tactical flexibility instead of forcing an incompatible squad into his favoured 3-4-3 system, saying he has “to sell my idea, if I change all the time it will be even worse.

“But I understand they have a lot of difficulties because they spend two years playing one way and now playing another, with a lot of losses, is really tough on them and you can feel it during the games,” he added.

MORE ON THE MANCHESTER UNITED MESS FROM F365
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👉 Manchester United’s worst January signing obvious as Mudryk destined for Chelsea crown

“Even when we try to score, was more from them than the organisation. You have to feel it. I have to sell my idea, I cannot find another one.

“If I change the system completely I don’t know if I’m here to win. You know? If I do that and continue to lose, it’s worse. You don’t know, I don’t know.”

Carragher agreed with Amorim, writing: ‘If Amorim switched to four at the back in response to United’s results it would undermine his reason for being there.’

The Sky Sports pundit continued to take aim at those in charge of footballing matters: ‘The Manchester United executives in charge of football operations are the architects of this mess, not Amorim.’

He then questioned how technical director Jason Wilcox can insist on establishing a team-wide “game model” – ‘the same system replicated across every level of the club’ – when ‘you are backing a manager with such a vastly different system to the one you have just sacked?’

And really yeah, that’s pretty fair.

‘The United hierarchy knew the risks of asking Amorim to take over straight away because it is obvious the current squad are not set up to play his way,’ Carragher says.

‘They have put faith in Amorim to make it work but his formation is so unsuited to the personnel that all the positive momentum that could have been created, had he taken over with a full pre-season and a chance to recruit players of the right profile, has been lost.’

READ NEXT: Manchester United explore ‘stunning’ Rashford swap for Chelsea target with Amorim ‘desperate’

Mykhaylo Mudryk might claim the crown for Chelsea in years to come but it will take some doing for Manchester United to make a worse January signing.

Arsenal: Kaba Diawara
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might see Dennis Bergkamp’s FA Cup semi-final penalty miss as the point Arsenal’s Double became Manchester United’s Treble in 1999, but the sliding doors moment arguably came even later.

The two sides were separated by goal difference heading into the final two games of the Premier League season, and both faced difficult fixtures. United had to travel to Blackburn and host Tottenham, while Arsenal visited Leeds and took on Aston Villa at Highbury.

Arsenal blinked first. They were beaten 1-0 by Leeds 24 hours before United drew 0-0 at Ewood Park, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink netting the goal that effectively crowned United champions.

But the game will always be remembered for the inexplicable profligacy of crossbar challenge champion Kaba Diawara, who was thwarted by woodwork and Nigel Martyn about four times in a 19-minute substitute cameo.

The striker had joined that January for £2.5m, and was billed by Arsene Wenger as the next Nicolas Anelka. Fifteen games, no goals and 123 days after moving to north London, he was loaned back out to France and never played for the Gunners again.

The next Nicolas Anelka he was not.

Aston Villa: Jean Makoun
“He has played in the Champions League. He’ll be a good asset for the future,” said Gerard Houllier when he paid a not-inconsiderable £6.2m for his old Lyon man Jean Makoun in 2011.

He was not a good asset for the future. A month later he was sent off for a lunge on Blackpool’s DJ Campbell and things never really got any better, with the Cameroonian eventually playing just eight league games for Villa before leaving for Olympiakos on loan and then Rennes on a permanent deal after new Villa manager Paul Lambert said he “had not got a clue what he looks like”.

Even Philippe Coutinho made a bigger impact. And he was bobbins for Villa.

Bournemouth: Lewis Grabban
Eddie Howe reacted to his first January transfer window as a Premier League manager with all the restraint of Neil Custis in an argument with Jim White. That Josh King ended their first top-flight season as top scorer with seven goals suggested they needed a striker, but Juan Iturbe, Benik Afobe and Lewis Grabban for a combined £18m is rarely ever the answer.

Iturbe was a loan, and Afobe was vaguely understandable, the Premier League virgin having impressed with Championship Wolves. But the deal for Grabban was just bizarre. Bournemouth signed the forward for £300,000 in 2012, sold him for £3m in 2014, then watched him score one goal in six top-flight games for Norwich before deciding to part with £8m to bring him back.

He scored one goal in 22 appearances for the Cherries before finally leaving again in 2018.

Brentford: Neil Shipperley
Long before the Premier League Bees were signing the likes of Christian Eriksen, they were having bucket collections to fund the wages of veteran striker Shipperley, who turned up at Griffin Park looking like he’d been on the buckets at KFC after his contract at Sheffield United had been cancelled. In 11 League One games, Shipperley failed to net before taking the hint and retiring.

Brighton: Jurgen Locadia
Brighton broke their club transfer record in 2018 to sign the Dutchman from PSV for over £14m after a glorious half-season in which he had scored nine goals in 15 Eredivisie games.

“He is a strong, powerful and quick centre-forward with a real eye for goal, and will increase our attacking options in the second half of the season,” said Chris Hughton, who must have felt pretty pleased with himself when Locadia scored on his debut from the bench; it would be the first of only three goals in 34 Premier League appearances.

He had a couple of loans with options to buy – FC Cincinnati and Bochum chose not to – before Locadia was allowed to leave for nothing in winter 2022. He was last seen at CF Intercity, bottom of Spain’s third-tier Primera Federacion.

Chelsea: Juan Cuadrado
We’re reserving judgement on Mykhaylo Mudryk for now and though Fernando Torres is another obvious answer, especially since his transfer fee was more than twice that of Cuadrado, his impact was three or four times more telling than the Colombian’s.

Torres can at least claim to have played a huge part in the club’s Champions and Europa League wins; Cuadrado started four Premier League games and assisted one goal in their run to the title after arriving in January 2015. He was loaned out to Juventus that summer, then again in August 2016, and left Stamford Bridge to make his Turin move permanent in May 2017.

But things aren’t looking great for Mudryk.

Crystal Palace: Valerien Ismael
It took until the 2013 arrival of Dwight Gayle for Crystal Palace to finally and completely exorcise the lingering ghost of Valerien Ismael. The defender was the club’s record signing for 15 years after joining from Strasbourg for £2.75m in an ill-fated attempt from Steve Coppell to maintain their Premier League status. The Frenchman played 13 games, left for less than £2.75m after nine months and was playing for Bayern Munich within seven years. His coaching career has gone less well.

Everton: Cenk Tosun
Then-manager Sam Allardyce (still seems odd) described him as “the best in Europe” at the price of £27m in 2018. It never sounded right and 11 goals in 61 games for Everton can be offered as pretty compelling evidence.

It took the Toffees four years to get shot of Tosun, who eventually came off the payroll after four years when he went back for another stint at Besiktas.

Fulham: Kostas Mitroglou
Let Steve Sidwell tell the story:

“In January, relegation battle, we needed a striker. So they went and got Kostas Mitroglou, I think his name was. This f***er, he did not stop eating. Honesty, he did, I’m telling you now, he did not stop eating. He was a big boy. And you know the protein bars, every time you’d see him, he’d be walking around the training ground with a f***ing protein bar.”

What Sidwell did not say: The Greek striker was signed for £12m in January 2014 and he played three games without scoring a goal before Fulham were relegated. He eventually left the club in 2016, with Fulham somehow recouping around half their investment from Benfica. Who then flipped the striker on to Marseille. He was last seen in the German amateur leagues.

Ipswich: N/A
Try as we might, we couldn’t find a January transfer turkey for Ipswich. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Enlighten us, Tractor Boys…

Leicester: Adrien Silva
As FIFA received the relevant paperwork 14 seconds after the summer transfer deadline, this technically stands as a winter signing for Leicester. It wasn’t even nearly worth the hassle as Silva started 16 games in almost three years before being released from his contract.

Liverpool: Andy Carroll
The weird, desperate purchase of Ben Davies from Preston runs Carroll close, but there can only be one.

No laptop guru worth his charger would possibly have sanctioned a £35m move for a 22-year-old striker with 14 top-flight career goals, yet Liverpool were panicked into such a move in January 2011. With Fernando Torres headed to Chelsea, a replacement had to be sourced. Newcastle were so stunned that Carroll was the chosen one that they rejected an initial £30m bid. Liverpool somehow came back with an extra £5m to get their man.

Carroll became the eighth most expensive footballer – and most expensive British player – ever at the time. He did not make his debut until March, did not score his first goal until April, netted just 11 times in 58 games overall, and was sold for just £15m in 2013. At least Steven Caulker and Ozan Kabak were loans.

Manchester City: Wilfried Bony
Before Harry Kane officially made it A Thing, Wilfried Bony was busy scribbling ‘top Premier League scorer in a single calendar year with 20 goals in 2014’ under the achievements section of his CV. And it bloody well worked, as Manchester City were so impressed with the Swansea forward’s productivity that they parted with £25m to sign him and ostracise Edin Dzeko. Ten goals in 46 games hardly convinced the newly-appointed Pep Guardiola that he could lead the line.

Manchester United: Alexis Sanchez
Remember when Manchester United fans were giddy about this one? Remember when swapping lazy, pea-hearted Henrikh Mkhitaryan for street-fighter Alexis Sanchez was seen as a phenomenal deal? Remember the piano and the glee? Less than three years later, they allowed him to leave for a free transfer (and had to pay him a wedge themselves), having realised that simply offering the Chilean higher wages than Manchester City did not count as a trophy.

READ MORE: Every Man Utd signing post-Sir Alex ranked: Alexis, Antony in bottom two, Solskjaer buy top

Newcastle: Jean-Alain Boumsong
A transfer so inexplicable that it formed a key part of the Stevens inquiry into football corruption, Newcastle exceeded even themselves in January 2005. Jean-Alain Boumsong had been available as a free agent just six months before Graeme Souness signed him from Rangers for £8m on a five-and-a-half-year contract.

“The supporters will enjoy watching him play,” said the Scot. “He is potentially a top man in our football team. I think he expects to be up there with the likes of Terry and Ferdinand.”

Wogan and Anton, presumably.

Nottingham Forest: Rafik Djebbour
The Djebbour djisaster. The Alegerian, then 30, joined Forest from Olympiacos in January 2014 on a two-and-a-half-year deal and he scored on his debut against Yeovil. But that was as good as it got. He failed to net in seven other appearances before being dropped by caretaker-manager Gary Brazil for poor effort and attitude in training. At the end of the season, both parties realised they’d f***ed up and agreed to go their separate ways.

Southampton: Guido Carrillo
Like a firefighter arriving at the scene armed with a water pistol, Guido Carrillo was the absolute last thing Southampton’s doctor ordered. The striker started more games (five) than he had shots on target (four) in the Premier League, offering about as much to the club’s successful battle against relegation as Mark Hughes.

Carrillo finally left on a free transfer in October 2022 (for Elche) without scoring a single goal for Southampton. A reminder: He cost £20m. And that alone puts him just ahead of Mislav Orsic’s six Premier League minutes for £8m.

Tottenham: Ricardo Rocha
The story of Tottenham’s 2006/07 season should be part of the national curriculum. From finishing fifth in the Premier League to reaching two quarter-finals and one semi-final, there was also a Paul Robinson goal, only the fifth-ever shared Player of the Month award, and Edgar Davids playing alongside Andy Barcham and Dorian Dervite in a League Cup round-of-16 tie.

Just to cement its legacy, Ricardo Rocha joined for £3.2m plus two friendlies between Tottenham and Benfica, with the Portuguese club keeping all the gate receipts. He would start just 16 games across three seasons.

West Ham: Savio Nsereko
The worst January Premier League transfer of all. Savio has faked more of his own kidnappings than he has scored goals in England, despite reigning as West Ham’s club-record signing for four and a half years. The Hammers thought they had stolen a march on the rest of Europe when they brought the forward in for £9m, Savio having been named in the 2008 Under-19 Euros Team of the Tournament. Yet there was barely a hint of shock when a player who had scored three career goals in 22 games for Serie B side Brescia was lost in the crowd. After making just one Premier League start, he was sold to Fiorentina for £3m after six months.

Wolves: Eggert Jonsson
Signed by Mick McCarthy and forgotten by Terry Connor in the Premier League, Eggert Jonsson actually managed to outlast not only his first two Wolves managers, but also Stale Solbakken and Dean ‘The Scout’ Saunders in the Championship. The midfielder played just seven times before being released from a contract that had two years remaining in 2013.

January is here and transfer rumours are rife, some of which will no doubt concern the future of Marcus Rashford and his apparent desire for a new challenge.

Could Manchester United let him go in January and will those in control at Old Trafford end up regretting the local lad leaving? Here’s an XI made up from players who came through the youth system at the club but departed too soon.

Goalkeeper: Jimmy Rimmer
Behind Alex Stepney in the pecking order when he came through the ranks, a young Jimmy Rimmer was on the bench as United won the European Cup in ’68, ten years after the tragedy of Munich. One of the new batch of Busby Babes, Rimmer did end up replacing a long-standing club legend, but it wasn’t Stepney.

Instead, he ended up at Highbury and took on the No. 1 shirt at Arsenal after the retirement of Bob Wilson and later enjoyed a long spell at Aston Villa, where he won a second European Cup, despite coming off injured after less than 10 minutes of the final. If you fancy a goalkeeper challenge, try naming two Premier League era ‘keepers who played for Villa but started their career at Old Trafford.

Centre-back: Jimmy Nicholl
A right-back for United in the late seventies, Jimmy Nicholl often lined up in the centre for Northern Ireland. Comfortable on the ball with both feet, it seemed an odd decision for new boss Ron Atkinson to let an established defender who came up through the youth system go. Nicholl went on to win multiple trophies up north with Rangers and he was yet to turn 30 by the time Alex Ferguson arrived at Old Trafford.

Centre-back: Jonny Evans
Jonny Evans joins fellow countryman Nicholl in this side, having departed Old Trafford in 2015 before returning to his boyhood club in 2023. Louis van Gaal moved Evans on in 2015, meaning he missed out on the FA Cup win the following year. But he went on to win the competition with Leicester in 2021 and with United last May after coming off the bench in the win over City.

But in a world without Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, he could have been celebrating an uninterrupted two-decade spell in Manchester.

READ: Every Man Utd signing post-Sir Alex ranked: Sancho, Antony in bottom five, Solskjaer buy top

Centre-back: Gerard Pique
Only a year older than Evans, Gerard Pique could have partnered the Northern Irishman at the back in the early post-Ferguson years after the successful paring of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic was lost to age and injury. But Pique wasn’t prepared to wait around for his first-team spot and returned home to Catalonia in 2008 after making just 23 appearances in the four years since his debut.

Pique’s departure came shortly after the Red Devils won the Champions League and a year later he played a key role in stopping his former team making it back-to-back wins in the competition as Barcelona triumphed 2-0 at Wembley.

Right wing: David Beckham
Alex Ferguson didn’t seem to have any problems moving on big-name players and back in 2003 they didn’t come any bigger than David Beckham.

Part of the famous Class of ’92, Beckham won it all at United and his celebrity status transcended the sport. But Ferguson literally gave him the boot in a heated dressing room incident and England’s most famous player was soon off to Spain to become a Galactico, with a transfer to Real Madrid completed in the summer.

The Red Devils didn’t do too badly without him and the man who took on the burden of the famous number 7 shirt proved to be pretty handy himself. But maybe Cristiano Ronaldo and Beckham linking up could have added even more silverware to the Old Trafford trophy cabinet.

Central midfield: Paul Pogba
Another big-name Ferguson moved on was Paul Pogba, who made his debut under the legendary Scottish boss back in the 2011/12 season. But the Frenchman was soon off to Juventus where he enjoyed a successful spell before returning to Old Trafford for big money in 2016. Despite not achieving what was expected of him in his second spell and his subsequent doping ban after once again fleeing to Turin, the club could have saved a fortune had he stayed the course.

READ: Where Paul Pogba could make his triumphant Premier League return to most infuriate Souness

Central midfield: Johnny Morris
The first two names in this midfield fell foul of Ferguson’s wrath, but the following three all ended up on the wrong side of another legendary Scottish boss in the Old Trafford hotseat.

Matt Busby’s first great side included the impressive forward line of Jimmy Delaney, Johnny Morris, Jack Rowley, Stan Pearson and Charlie Mitten. Together they helped the Red Devils to victory in the 1948 FA Cup Final, but less than a year later, Manchester-born Morris was off to Derby County for a record fee at the age of just 25 after an argument with Busby could not be amicably resolved.

Central midfield: Johnny Giles
Fourteen years after Morris had his disagreement with Matt Busby, another talented player from the youth system left Old Trafford in similar circumstances. Johnny Giles wasn’t keen on Busby’s decision to start him on the right wing and the Irishman departed soon after the 1963 FA Cup win: the club’s first major trophy after the Munich air crash. Giles went on to enjoy a long and successful career at Leeds United, winning two league titles at Elland Road.

Left wing: Charlie Mitten
Prominent United supporter Andy Mitten recently suggested that several managers at the club have had issues with Marcus Rashford. He certainly wouldn’t be the first key player to frustrate the man in the Old Trafford hotseat; indeed, Mitten’s great uncle Charlie fell out with Matt Busby after being lured by the rebel riches of Colombia in 1950, a country outside of FIFA control at the time.

Mitten returned home after a year in South America, with the Red Devils still holding his registration and although Busby rated the skilful winger highly, he didn’t want his authority questioned and sent one of his early star players down south to Fulham.

Striker: Brian Kidd
Just like Mitten, Brian Kidd possessed a fine left peg and starts up top for this side. Some may suggest George Best should occupy a place in this XI, having departed the club whilst still in his twenties. But the outrageously gifted Best had no doubt given United his best years and it seems impossible that any boss post-Busby could have controlled the Northern Irishman’s demons.

After the stellar careers of Charlton, Law, Crerand and Stiles came to an end, Best was burdened with the task of keeping the side competitive. Kidd seemed ideally placed to help, having scored in the European Cup win of ’68 whilst still a teenager. However, he left for Arsenal following relegation in 1974 and wasn’t to be part of an Old Trafford revolution until he returned to the club as Alex Ferguson’s assistant.

Striker: Mark Hughes
Still in the top ten of all time Manchester United goalscorers, Mark Hughes could have found himself a few spots higher on that list had he not left the club in 1986. A disappointing spell at Barcelona resulted in a loan move to Bayern Munich before Alex Ferguson brought him back to Old Trafford. It proved to be a good move, as the Welshman went on to help the club to a first league title in 26 years, followed by the domestic double in 1994.