Louis Van Gaal arrived at Manchester United with a strong reputation, a lot of promise and amidst a wealth of optimism amongst the supporters. In the end though, it hasn’t quite worked out as everyone would have hoped.
The Dutchman has seen two unsuccessful quests in Europe this season, two mediocre campaigns in the Premier League and underperforming in the cup competitions. Whilst the FA Cup is still within reach, West Ham lie in wait.
Looking at Van Gaal’s reign, which many expect to reach an abrupt end this summer, a lot of the problems can stem back to what are frankly bizarre transfer decisions- relating to both signings and outgoing deals, which left many scratching their heads.
Here, we take a look at five of the worst transfer decisions from Van Gaal- and it’s a fiercely-contested battle for the honour of being the worst of the lot.
Hit Van Gaal below to see his FIVE worst transfer decisions!
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Signing Radamel Falcao
Radamel Falcao’s year at Old Trafford was as successful as England’s quest for glory on the international stage. A lot of promise, based upon ill-fated facts, and ultimate failure to perform when it came down to business.
Falcao was previously one of the most deadly strikers in European football but don’t let that make you believe he was on-form when he signed for United. By this stage, Falcao had endured an injury-plagued spell with Monaco and missed the World Cup.
It was pretty clear that Falcao, fresh from a long-term cruciate ligament injury, was never going to be the player he once was but United went for his signature anyway. Their reward was a measly four Premier League goals and a heavy dent in their bank account.
Victor Valdes
Manchester United needed competition for David De Gea, so signing compatriot Victor Valdes was a shrewd move. With numerous successes in Spain, in Europe and on the international stage, Valdes was the perfect signing.
The problem was that Louis Van Gaal doesn’t get on well with big names. He had it before in Barcelona with Rivaldo and just months into Valdes spell with United, the two had fallen out on a grand scale as the Spaniard was left-out of a pre-season tour.
Van Gaal claimed Valdes refused to play with the reserves, which the player denies, and the bridge was never rebuilt. Still on United’s books, he’ll leave permanently this summer.
Angel Di Maria saga
In a transfer that set a British transfer record, Angel Di Maria became one of the worst Premier League signings ever- and the reasons for his demise are not clear at all, as he’s since got back to his best at Paris Saint-Germain.
The problem is, it was clear Di Maria wanted to go to Paris. A long saga saw the pair flirt with each other but financial restrictions meant PSG couldn’t complete a deal- but it was obvious it was going to happen at some point.
United ended up buying a player who regarded the Red Devils as second-choice, failed to get the best out of him and sold him for a loss after a year. From beginning to end, the Di Maria saga was a disaster.
Selling Javier Hernandez
Bizarre decisions are Louis Van Gaal’s shining merit and there’s no many more weird than the decision to sell Javier Hernandez. The Mexican forward was a fan-favourite at Old Trafford, earning a super-sub tag, but he was never given his chance by Van Gaal.
Hernandez spent the first year of Van Gaal’s reign on-loan to Real Madrid, where he enjoyed mixed form, and it was clear he could still do a job for United. However, he was offloaded to Bayer Leverkusen and has been a massive hit since.
What makes things worse is United’s troubles in front of goal this season, with their forward line consisting of a Wayne Rooney who’s been far from his best and a previously unknown prodigy, Anthony Martial, trying to keep the club afloat.
Letting Welbeck join Arsenal
Letting a quality player leave is always a weird decision, especially when said player ends up joining a direct rival. It seems like a story you’d only see on Football Manager but no, this is Louis Van Gaal at his prime.
Danny Welbeck was Manchester United through-and-through but Van Gaal, who was set for striking problems in the future after Welbeck’s sale, elected to approve the sale of the England international to Arsenal for just £16m.
Welbeck ended up knocking United out of the FA Cup last season, on his way to his first success with his new side, and has been a massive boost for the Gunners this term since his return from injury.
