Transfers are gambles at the best of times, but January elevates the stakes to a whole new level.
With prices at a premium and such little time to get deals over the line, we’ve seen some eyebrow-raising moves take place in the winter transfer window – some work but some, as all clubs have come to experience, really don’t.
While Manchester United can boast some of the best January signings of all time, they have made numerous blunders. Below, 90min ranks them.
Ritchie De Laet spent three and half years at Manchester United following his arrival as a promising youngster in January 2009.
As it turned out, the Belgian would go on to have more loan spells than Premier League starts for the Red Devils, never managing to get his feet on the ground in the first team. The right-back excelled in United’s reserve team but simply couldn’t shine when given his opportunities at senior level, managing six appearances in total for the club.
He would, however, later become a Premier League champion with Leicester.
Another player tipped to go and achieve great things is Wilfried Zaha, who was brought in by Sir Alex Ferguson halfway through the 2012/13 campaign.
A glittering prospect at the time, Zaha simply failed to get going during his time at Old Trafford, also being sent out on loan more times than he featured in the Premier League for the Red Devils.
In all, he played six times during the two years he was at United before sealing a permanent transfer to Crystal Palace – where, as we know, the rest has certainly become history.
Diego Forlan’s move to Manchester United in January 2002 was an exciting one. A youngster who’d impressed in South America, the then-22-year-old arrived as a goal-hungry striker but departed starved 18 months later.
The Uruguayan icon would play 97 times for Ferguson’s side, but failed to live up to expectations as he managed just 17 goals in all competitions.
He later went on to make waves in Spain, helping both Villarreal and Atletico Madrid to European honours, as well as starring for his country for over a decade as he lifted the 2011 Copa America title.
When talking about impact-less transfers, Zoran Tosic has to be right up there.
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