Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher discussed Man United on Monday Night Football (MNF) once more, this time ranking every major Red Devils signing post-Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Old Trafford side have had a quiet, yet underwhelming transfer window thus far. When Erik ten Hag arrived as the new manager, many expected a total overhaul of the squad. Instead, United have made just three acquisitions: Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia, and Christian Eriksen.
Meanwhile, they showed several first-team players the exit door. United let three senior players, including Paul Pogba, leave on free transfers, and have sent more out on loan. Overall, the squad is looking relatively thin – and United are paying for it thus far.
In the past, the Red Devils have spent heavily in the transfer market to try and rekindle the magic that went when Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Unbelievably, their overall spending has reached the £1 billion mark. Despite this, a lot of United’s transfers have been disappointing.
To try and see just how poorly Man United had invested in their squad, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville created a traffic light tier list on MNF.
Neville and Carragher rank Man United transfers
The Sky Sports pundits ranked all 33 of United’s major transfers into three tiers. Firstly, the green level meant a “good value” signing. Below this, amber stood for a decent signing, but not amazing.
Finally, the red level was for transfers that disappointed at Old Trafford, or failed to live up to their transfer fee.
Unfortunately, just two players made the green tier for Carragher and Neville. Top of the list was Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic joined United as a free agent in 2016. During his brief stint in Manchester, the forward helped the Red Devils win a League Cup and Europa League – the club’s last pieces of silverware.
Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes is the only current Man United squad member that Carragher and Neville put in green. A two-time Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, Fernandes was a revelation when he moved to the Premier League. However, towards the tail-end of last season, his form dropped off.
Following the green tier, two more Matt Busby award winners made the pundits’ amber level. These were Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera. Joining those two in amber were Nemanja Matic, Fred, Harry Maguire, Edinson Cavani, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
With so few names in the top two groups, the red category was full of famous signings that failed to live up to expectations.
The red tier
World Cup and Champions League winners found themselves in the bottom tier of Carragher and Neville’s brutal rankings. For instance, Bastian Schweinsteiger was there, as were Raphael Varane and Angel Di Maria. All these players joined United with big reputations. However, they struggled to find their feet in Manchester.
Varane still has time to prove himself, though, as he only joined last summer.
Elsewhere, big-money transfers such as Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, and Anthony Martial were also in the red tier. In fact, six of United’s 10 most expensive signings ever are in the “disappointing” tier. Some fans may think that this judges Pogba too harshly, though, as, on his day, he could be world-class.
Additionally, supporters may not be impressed to find Juan Mata in the bottom section, as he was a loyal club servant during his eight years at Old Trafford.
Finally, Neville and Carragher placed Jadon Sancho in the red level, despite him only joining Man United last summer. Although he has scored just five goals, the English winger has plenty of time to justify his £73 million fee.
Like any tier list, many players’ rankings are up for debate. But it can be said that, on the whole, Man United have not invested wisely in the squad throughout the past decade.
Featured Image Credit: Getty