From Pogba to Di Maria - Woodward's Man Utd transfer rankings from worst to best

Five goals in 45 appearances was not the kind of return United had in mind when they swapped £35m-rated Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Alexis Sanchez in January 2018 and handed the Chilean a record £390,000 weekly wage plus significant appearance bonuses.

Not only has Sanchez failed to deliver on the pitch in his 18 months at Old Trafford, but his unprecedented pay packet has boxed United into a corner with the rest of the first-team squad. The decision to break the back for the 30-year-old has created disharmony and conjecture at every level of the club and the sooner they get him off the bill and start from scratch once more, the better.

Rating: 1/10

Angel di Maria was not Louis van Gaal’s choice in the summer of 2014. But with Real Madrid offloading the misfiring Argentine, Woodward found the chance to sign a notable world star to be too big a chance to turn down, whatever the footballing fallout. His £59.7m signing was a British transfer record.

"I was satisfied, because he was a creative player, but I had other players on the list,” Van Gaal told The Guardian. “Di María had a problem with the English football culture and the climate. You cannot buy players and know, for sure, that they can deliver.”

Di Maria didn’t deliver, and within a year he had engineered a move to Paris Saint-Germain at a £15m loss to United having netted four goals in 32 games.

Rating: 1/10

Memphis Depay was the marquee signing of the summer of 2015 as Louis van Gaal looked to push his side on to the next level after Champions League qualification the previous season. But the Dutch attacker would instead become a symbol of a failed era.

The £30.6m signing was a perennial substitute within six months of his arrival, with the emergence of Jesse Lingard squeezing him out of Van Gaal’s favoured XI. And a dramatic fall from grace was completed in January 2017 when Jose Mourinho allowed him to leave for Lyon having made only one start - in the League Cup - in half a season under the new manager.

Rating: 2/10

Only strictly a loan addition, the entire package of Radamel Falcao’s one-year spell at Manchester United is well worth a closer look. United paid Monaco £6m for his temporary addition and the player earned in excess of £260,000 a week as part of the deal.

It didn’t go altogether well. Falcao made just 14 league starts and scored only four goals in 29 total appearances before United turned down the opportunity to pay £43.5m for his permanent transfer and the striker headed out on loan to Chelsea instead.

Rating: 2/10

The other half of the ‘Schmidfield’, the Bayern Munich legend arrived at a time when injuries were always likely to hinder his progress with United and he managed only 13 Premier League starts for the Red Devils.

Having been pushed to the fringes by Jose Mourinho in his second season, Schweinsteiger briefly threatened a renaissance before being released in order to complete a move to the Chicago Fire in MLS.

Rating: 2/10

While Victor Valdes arrived as a free agent, United still managed to make a significant mess out of the addition of the long-time Barcelona goalkeeper. The Spaniard made his debut when replacing the injured David de Gea in May 2015 and would start against Hull City the following week but by then he had already attracted the ire of Louis van Gaal.

Valdes had seemingly refused to play in a reserve fixture that spring, and Van Gaal would never again choose him in his first-team squad as a result. The shot-stopper took to social media to undermine the manager’s assertion but there was never to be a way back and he was released at the end of his contract in 2016.

Rating: 2/10

The failure of Mkhitaryan’s £26.3m transfer cannot necessarily be laid at Woodward’s door, with one of the most eagerly-anticipated additions of Jose Mourinho’s first summer at Old Trafford eventually falling flat as a result of the difficulties between player and manager.

The Armenian spent long periods of his 18-month spell at United training separately from the first-team squad but Mourinho’s tough-love act never worked to any great extent. Despite scoring the clinching goal in the Europa League final win against Ajax in 2017, Mkhitaryan couldn’t convince the Portuguese boss and would be used as the makeweight in the ill-fated Sanchez deal the following winter.

Rating: 3/10

There was much talk of United’s ‘Schmidfield’ revolution when Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger were unveiled together in 2015 but the former’s £30m signing from Southampton never really developed as had been expected.

The Frenchman never truly found a permanent slot in Louis van Gaal’s midfield and once Jose Mourinho took over there was simply no look-in for Schneiderlin. By January 2017 he was begging for a transfer and was sold to Everton during the winter transfer window.

Rating: 3/10

There is still plenty of time for this transfer to come good, but United’s return on a £52m investment in Fred has been minimal to say the least so far.

The Brazil international arrived from Shakhtar Donetsk having previously been of interest to Manchester City among others, but his impact since arriving at Old Trafford last summer has been negligible. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be hoping he begins to acclimatise to the British game during the 2019-20 season but a rookie-year tally of 12 largely-unconvincing Premier League starts does not bode terribly well.

Rating: 3/10

When Guillermo Varela arrived from Penarol in 2013 he was the first Manchester United signing not made by Sir Alex Ferguson since Liam O’Brien in 1986.

As Woodward’s and David Moyes’ first purchase, there was always going to be a special focus around Varela’s United career but the £2m right-back would make just three league starts – all during injury crises under Louis van Gaal – amid loan moves to Real Madrid Castilla and Eintracht Frankfurt before returning to Penarol.

Rating: 3/10

Brought in by David Moyes in the summer of 2013, Janko was promoted to the first-team picture by Louis van Gaal in time for the 4-0 League Cup humiliation by Milton Keynes the following August. His 45-minute appearance was to be his first and last, with a loan move to Bolton preceding a permanent exit to Celtic in July 2015.

Rating: 3/10

United had been looking for a permanent solution to their right-back problem for some time, and after Louis van Gaal decided to sell Rafael da Silva to Lyon it was Torino’s Matteo Darmian who he identified as a long-term successor to Gary Neville at a cost of £16.2m.

However, the Italy international has never managed to fit in with the pace of English football, nor with the added defensive responsibility as a right-back compared to his more natural wing-back role, and he looks destined to be shipped out this summer as a result.

Rating: 4/10

United signed then-16-year-old Regan Poole from Newport County for £180,000 in 2015 and he would make the briefest of debuts as a 91st-minute substitute against FC Midtjylland on the night made famous by Marcus Rashford’s match-winning brace.

But the Welshman’s development has been stymied somewhat with United, and it has been during loan moves to Northampton Town and back to Newport that the Red Devils have so far learnt most about his prospects. He appears no closer currently to having a chance of breaking into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-team considerations.

Rating: 4/10

This one could have been much lower on our list but similarly may have ranked higher too. Marouane Fellaini’s £27.5m arrival has long been considered as an emblem for post-Ferguson United, particularly when the club originally hoped to bag both him and Leighton Baines for around the same fee. An expensive totem-pole attacking midfielder would not have been top of the great Scot’s list of desirable purchases, but the Belgian was the only major signing of Woodward and David Moyes’ first summer window.

Fellaini was to become more a figure of fun than a fan favourite, and while he contributed with some huge goals and important interventions during his five-and-a-half years at Old Trafford, he was destined to go down as a symbol of where things have gone wrong since Woodward took over from David Gill.

Rating: 5/10

Marcos Rojo has been one of the great enigmas of current-era Manchester United. An Argentine international of decent repute, his £16m arrival from Sporting Lisbon seemed set to turn into one of their better deals.

But while United inexplicably tied him down until at least 2021 on a new deal last year, Rojo has yet to deliver a truly compelling run of performances in his five years at the club. Having arrived as a potential option at both centre-back and left-back he has only occasionally impressed as the former and rarely looked comfortably as the latter.

Rating: 5/10

Signed from Ajax for around £350,000 in the summer of 2014, midfielder-cum-defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah went on to become a regular senior squad member in the latter months of 2015-16 under Louis van Gaal.

But he then played rarely under Jose Mourinho the following season and has spent spells on loan with Crystal Palace and Fulham since then. His prospects of breaking in at United have been reduced significantly over the last few years, and a renaissance would appear unlikely at this point.

Rating: 5/10

Having been signed from Chelsea for £40m in Jose Mourinho’s second summer in charge, Nemanja Matic initially appeared to be the perfect addition to United’s midfield. However, it took only a few months for the sheen of invincibility to begin to wear away and the Serb’s form has never truly reached those heights again since.

While United undoubtedly need somebody of his poise in the centre of the park, his age and lack of mobility have quickly become an issue. Perhaps a savvier football administrator than Woodward would have been more likely to question Mourinho’s wisdom in proposing such a huge outlay on a 29-year-old holding midfielder.

Rating: 5/10

Like Matic, Eric Bailly’s initial impact after his £30m arrival from Villarreal in 2016 suggested United had got themselves a bargain. But the Ivorian is another player who has been unable to replicate those highs in recent times and his long-term suitability to lead the Red Devils’ defensive line is in question.

Having come to football at a relatively late age, Bailly so often shows that he remains a raw talent rather than a rounded professional, and it will be on his development over the next couple of years that the final verdict on his value will be made. The coming season in particular will have a huge bearing on what United plan for him going forward.

Rating: 5.5/10

The £1.5m addition of Lee Grant in July 2018 was an easy win for United. As an experienced, respected and proven goalkeeper, the 36-year-old was the perfect man to play back-up to David de Gea and Sergio Romero.

Few players of Grant’s age and ability would decide to stick it out as a third-choice goalkeeper but the former Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City man has used it as a developmental experience, even learning Spanish to improve communication with De Gea, Romero and goalkeeping coach Emilio Alvarez.

Rating: 5.5/10

Still only 20, Diogo Dalot has fitted in reasonably well in his first 12 months as a Manchester United player since his £19m purchase from Porto.

Having made only seven senior appearances before his move to England, Dalot was always going to take some time to adapt to life at Old Trafford. And while he continues to show signs of some rawness in his game he has been a moderate success to this point.

Like most youngsters his true worth to the club will become clear as he matures, but there can be no qualms about United’s decision to bring him to the Premier League.

Rating: 6/10

Romelu Lukaku has been a qualified success at United following his £75m arrival from Everton two summers ago. He hit the ground running, scoring 11 goals in his first 10 games as a United player, but then found the going somewhat tougher before ending his debut campaign as top scorer with 27 goals in 51 appearances.

His second season was somewhat tougher, with Jose Mourinho beginning to bring in Marcus Rashford for more starts as the lead striker shortly before his sacking and then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer preferring the England youngster to Lukaku more often than not. As a result, Lukaku is keen to move on this summer but 42 goals from somebody who has started just 77 games - including two in THAT comeback in Paris - is not a terrible return despite his deficiencies in other areas of attack.

Rating: 6/10

Had Paul Pogba been able to extend his excellent run of form between December and February right through to the end of the season then United would be in the Champions League and the Frenchman would likely rank at number one in this list.

But it will take more than two months of top-level performances for his then-world-record £89.5m signing from Juventus to have been a clear success given his inconsistencies over the three years since his return to Old Trafford. He undoubtedly had his struggles with Jose Mourinho, but even after his early spell under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer he has continued to play within himself. If he stays this summer and the Norwegian finds players to complement him, Woodward’s outlay could well finally be justified.

Rating: 6/10

Luke Shaw was world football’s most expensive teenager when United paid £27m for him in 2014 and so much of his Old Trafford career has been bugged by frustration since then. His first campaign was hampered by niggling injuries after Louis van Gaal claimed he arrived overweight, then his second was halted in September by a nasty leg break.

After Jose Mourinho’s arrival things became more psychologically testing for the England full-back as the manager constantly questioned Shaw’s aptitude in public and regularly left him out of the first-team picture. Having eventually forced his way in under the Portuguese, Shaw was named United’s Player of the Year in 2018-19 with his team-mates speaking almost unanimously about his strong-mindedness in overcoming previous obstacles.

Rating: 6/10

Daley Blind arrived at Old Trafford as a defensive midfielder, secured a regular place in the side as a centre-back and spent most of his final campaign with United acting as a third-choice left-back.

But the fact he never quite nailed down a clear role as a United player cannot be held against Ed Woodward since it was the managers’ deployment of Blind which eventually sparked his return to Ajax last summer, with Jose Mourinho’s immediate insistence on favouring specialists over multi-functional players spelling the beginning of the end for the Dutchman. Having paid £14m for him in 2014 United more than made their money back four years later when recouping £16m.

Rating: 6/10

A free transfer for a second-choice goalkeeper ought not to rank so high on such a list, but perhaps that tells part of the story for Woodward. What is for certain is that as a back-up, Sergio Romero has done little wrong since arriving in 2015.

The former Monaco and Sampdoria man has rarely been a first-choice at club level over nearly a decade but has still largely managed to command the starting shirt for Argentina. There is widespread belief that Romero would be less able to produce over a concerted period were he to succeed David de Gea, but so far it cannot be said that his signing has been anything other than a positive.

Rating: 6.5/10

Despite having had his difficulties shortly after arriving from Benfica, Victor Lindelof has become United’s most convincing centre-half two years on from his £30.7m signing. The Swede has shown almost-constant improvement and at Champions League level in particular he has so often been a stand-out performer.

Whether he has played at a level high enough to justify Ed Woodward’s argument that United already had better defenders than Jose Mourinho’s 2018 targets Toby Alderweireld and Harry Maguire is another argument, but Lindelof was one of the club’s most consistent stars in 2018-19.

Rating: 6.5/10

But for his ACL injury in April 2017, Zlatan Ibrahimovic might well have been a decent shout for number one in this list. Even at the age of 34, his free transfer in the summer of 2016 brought a bolshiness, a belief and a level of experience that had begun to wain amongst the United ranks.

The Swede’s 28 goals led United to successes in the Community Shield, League Cup and Europa League even if he missed out on the Stockholm triumph due to his injury. When he attempted to return the following season it was clear that he was well off the pace, and it was no surprise when he headed Stateside that spring.

Rating: 7/10

A £29m arrival in 2014 from Athletic Bilbao, Ander Herrera quickly became a fan favourite at Old Trafford and five years on he had many supporters bemoaning his departure on a free transfer.

While he made more than 27 starts in all competitions in only one of his five seasons as a United player, he was an ever-willing competitor and also provided creative balance in the engine room during some of the club’s most convincing spells of recent times. As a character off the field, he will be massively missed.

Rating: 7/10

He may have suffered a dip in form in recent times but Juan Mata’s addition in January 2014 was up there with the very best moves United have made over a period of some years. His £37.1m signing was probably the last time the club went out and signed one of the best players from a top Premier League rival, even if he was having difficulties under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea at the time.

The Spaniard went on to become one of United’s most consistent attacking forces over a number of years and would play a major part in memorable victories against Liverpool, Manchester City, Juventus and the 2016 FA Cup final win over Crystal Palace among others.

Rating: 7/10

His signing initially attracted a lot of exasperation and ridicule, but Anthony Martial has since become one of United’s key players and at just 23 he still has plenty of time to make his transfer fee seem even more miniscule by modern standards.

United paid £36m up front for the teenage Martial - and have since forked out a further £8.7m after he reached 25 club goals before the expiration of his initial four-year deal. But in return they have got 48 goals, searing pace and desire on the ball.

Sure, he has had his ups and downs, but under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer he will likely be asked to play more of his natural game and even should things not quite work for him United have surely got enough out of Martial to more than justify the cost of his arrival. What’s more, Martial is reflective of exactly the type of exciting, talented youngster Manchester United should always be looking to sign.

Rating: 7.5/10