Disappointment is still reigning supreme amongst the Manchester United faithful here in the Football Transfer Tavern after these player mishaps.
Whilst Manchester United have garnered a reputation in recent years for their youth development; it has not all been plain sailing for the Jose Mourinho-led outfit.
For every young player that has made it through the United developmental systems, there have been a great number of stars that have simply failed to live up to expectations.
The Man United faithful here in the Tavern are worse than many with regards to hyping up their young players; and this often ends with disappointed faces in the Tavern when the majority of players inevitably fall flat.
With that, here are THREE over-hyped Man Utd players that never made it at Old Trafford…
Federico Macheda
Federico Macheda joined Man Utd as a trainee in 2007, and was touted for huge things at his new club.
He progressed quickly through the club’s youth ranks, but he could never make the final step into the United first team.
Over a seven-year spell with the Manchester giants he made just 19 first team league appearances, with the Man Utd faithful here in the Football Transfer Tavern feeling largely disappointed with the quality of the Italian forward.
He was sent on loan a number of times by United, but ultimately failed to make it happen in Manchester.
He now finds himself in search of a club, with his deal with latest contract with Cardiff expiring at the end of the 2015/16 season.
Our landlord was expecting big things from Macheda; but free agency is a far cry from superstardom.
Memphis Depay
Memphis Depay was Louis van Gaal’s landmark signing in 2015, with the then 21-year old midfielder expected to come into the Premier League and immediately make an impact.
He was given the famous number 7 shirt at United, a signal of how highly he was thought of amongst the United brass.
However, it just didn’t happen for the Dutch midfielder in his opening season.
He unsuccessfully tried to hold down a spot in the United first team, bagging just two goals throughout the season and often having to settle for a bit-part-role in Louis van Gaal’s side.
The United faithful here in the Football Transfer Tavern have given up on the prospect of Depay having a long-term career at United; and our landlord thinks the Depay-experiment has been a complete failure.
Jose Kleberson
Man Utd signed Jose Kleberson in 2002 following his exploits en-route to Brazil’s 2002 World Cup win, with his performances attracting attention from across Europe – and from a number of fans here in the Football Transfer Tavern.
He eventually signed for Man Utd in the summer transfer window following the World Cup, and was expected to replicate his excellent World Cup form whilst in red.
However, Kleberson suffered an injury in his second game – and following that he was largely unsuccessful in his quest to get regular first team football with United.
He eventually left the club after two seasons in 2005 – making just 20 appearances for United in the meantime.
One of the worst transfers in recent memory, according to our landlord.
