Manchester United fans are happy with life again here in the Football Transfer Tavern, having seen their side record six consecutive Premier League victories to move them up to third in the table.
The most recent of which saw Louis van Gaal’s men comfortably beat ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City 4-2 at Old Trafford, and all but establish themselves in the top four.
With Champions League football set to return to Old Trafford next season, van Gaal will no doubt have already begun identifying transfer targets for the summer.
He would do well to avoid a repeat of these clangers however, as we count down the six most pointless Manchester United transfers of all time.
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Click on Old Trafford to reveal the 5 most pointless Manchester United transfers ever
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Gabriel Obertan
Signed in the summer of 2009, United hoped they had unearthed a hidden gem.
It turned out they had unearthed a major flop, who thought he could pass as a Premier League player due to the fact he was capable of completing a couple of stepovers.
Obertan never fitted in at Old Trafford, and was made to look even worse by the fact he was competing with the likes of Nani and Antonio Valencia for a place on the wing so often.
He has since been sold to Newcastle United, where again he is struggling to make any sort of real impact.
Bebe
United have a decent record when it comes to signing Portuguese players, but sadly Bebe has tainted that reputation.
Sir Alex admitted to never having seen him play before he was signed in 2010, and it clearly showed.
The forward managed more loan moves than he did league appearances (three compared to two) before he was sold to Benfica, where guess what – he was sent out on loan.
David Bellion
Nobody quite understood the logic behind the deal to bring David Bellion to Old Trafford in the summer of 2003, considering he had only managed one league goal previously for Sunderland.
The Frenchman didn’t fare any better at Old Trafford, making fourteen league appearances in two years without scoring.
He can now be seen in action for Red Star – a side in the third tier of French football.
Liam Miller
The Irish midfielder was ridiculously labelled ‘the new Roy Keane’ when he arrived on a free transfer in 2004.
Unfortunately, Miller proved more like Roy Carroll (who only just misses out on this list) than Roy Keane during his time at Old Trafford.
He managed just nine league appearances over two years, and not a single goal.
He had spells at Leeds United, Sunderland and QPR as he struggled to forge a reputation in England, and is now plying his trade for Cork City in the League of Ireland Premier Division.
Eric Djemba-Djemba
The man supposedly so good, they named him twice.
Cameroon international Eric Djemba-Djemba arrived at Old Trafford in 2003, and seemed to make up for his lack of ability with consistent fouling from day one.
A challenge on his debut against Arsenal in the 2003 Community Shield was labelled ‘obscene’ by Arsene Wenger.
He made just 20 appearances in two years at the club.
