5 Manchester United flops who went on to succeed elsewhere

Manchester United are one of the biggest and most storied clubs in the world, and so when a player ends up at Old Trafford, it’s not always easy to make it there. Sure, some players end up becoming legends at the Theatre of Dreams, whether they’re bargains like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, marquee signings like Wayne Rooney, or academy graduates like David Beckham or Paul Scholes.

Many more, however, fall by the wayside and end up washing out of United largely being seen as flops. Whether it’s a case of them coming through the youth system only to fail once they make the first team, not making the grade entirely, or signing for a lot of money but not really delivering, the list is pretty endless.

Not succeeding at Old Trafford though doesn’t necessarily make someone a bad player. Here are five examples of players who washed out of United, only to succeed massively at another club.

#1 Michael Keane

Michael Keane's brief career at Manchester United was cut short

It’s hard to believe that Michael Keane was seen just a couple of years ago as nothing more than a Man United flop. After all, he’s just signed for Everton for £25m, becoming one of the most expensive defenders in Premier League history, and he may well develop into England’s central defensive lynchpin in time for the 2018 World Cup.

His time at Old Trafford though was very different. Keane joined United as a youngster in 2009 and signed his first professional contract in 2011. By 2012, big things were being predicted for him as he made a handful of first-team appearances and was even named United’s Reserve Player of the Year. By the time 2014/15 rolled around, Keane was expected to be challenging for a spot in the first team for good.

Unfortunately, Keane was chosen to start in United’s disastrous League Cup against MK Dons, a match that saw United hammered 4-0 by their League One opponents. Just weeks later, he was sent to Burnley on a loan until January 2015 - a move that became permanent when the loan deal ended. And far from being a flop, from there, he went from strength to strength.

His first full season saw him appear in 44 of Burnley’s 46 league games, scoring five goals as the side won the Championship and were promoted into the Premier League. And 2016/17 saw them finish a respectable 16th in the EPL, with Keane being one of their most outstanding players, so much so that March 2017 saw his first England call-up, where he started and played well in a friendly match against Germany.

Keane’s form was such that United were even linked with buying him back, but instead, he’s made his big move to Everton, where he’s expected to further establish himself as one of the league’s best defenders.

#2 Wilfried Zaha

The talents of Wilfried Zaha were painfully wasted by Man United

A change in management at a club is often one of the most difficult things for a player to deal with, and it was certainly so in the case of Wilfried Zaha. The speedy winger had impressed for Crystal Palace after breaking through their academy system to become a key player for the Eagles by 2011/12, and at just 20, it appeared that he had all the potential in the world.

Sir Alex Ferguson turned out to be an admirer too, and he decided to sign Zaha for United in January 2013, with the idea being that he’d remain at Palace – on loan – for the remainder of the season. The move was believed to have cost about £10m. Zaha continued to perform well for Palace for the rest of 2012/13, as the side were promoted to the Premier League, and then made his move.

Unfortunately, when Zaha arrived at United, Ferguson was gone and David Moyes was in his place. And right away, poor Zaha was never given a fair chance at his new club, as he fell out of favour with Moyes and played just twice before being packed off to Cardiff City on a loan in January 2014. The rumour – although it’s since been denied by all parties – was that Moyes discovered Zaha was sleeping with his daughter.

Regardless of the reason, it seemed like a terrible waste; Zaha was sent back to Selhurst Park on loan for the 2014/15 season and then made the move permanent in February 2015. And he’s since basically settled back into his old role as one of Palace’s key men, as won won their Player of the Year award in the last two seasons. Currently, he is recognised as one of the best attacking wide-men in the Premier League.

#3 Angel di Maria

Angel di Maria never seemed to really fit in at Old Trafford

A big price tag can often be like a millstone around a player’s neck, particularly when the player in question is one that a club doesn’t necessarily need, and the signing comes off as more of a vanity one than anything else. That was the case when Man United signed Argentine winger Angel di Maria in the summer of 2014 from Real Madrid for a monstrous £59m – then a British transfer record.

Di Maria had been one of Los Blancos outstanding players in 2013/14 and had also had a good World Cup for Argentina. The former Benfica man started well at United, scoring his first goal and earning Man of the Match in a September game against QPR. And then, October saw him voted United’s Player of the Month, but from there it basically went downhill.

The lanky winger returned in January but manager Louis Van Gaal couldn’t seem to decide whether he was a winger or a forward, and he was sent off in disgrace for grabbing the referee in an FA Cup Quarter-Final loss to Arsenal. He ended the season with just four goals in 32 appearances and was subsequently sold to Paris St. Germain in the summer of 2015.

The move to Paris, however, seems to have resurrected his career – he was outstanding throughout 2015/16, setting a new assist record for Ligue 1 with 18, and his form continued into 2016/17, with 14 goals and 8 assists across all competitions.

Whether the transfer fee put too much pressure on him at United, or it was a case of Van Gaal not knowing how to deploy him, Di Maria is certainly an example of a United flop who’s basically succeeded everywhere else he’s been.

#4 Danny Drinkwater

Another of United’s famous academy graduates, Danny Drinkwater joined the club at the age of just nine and progressed through the ranks, all the way into the reserve team in the late 2000’s. By 2008/09, the defensive midfielder had made it through into the senior ranks and was named on the bench for United’s final game of the season against Hull City, although he didn’t get on to the pitch.

Drinkwater’s United future seemed bright, but it simply wasn’t to be. A season-long loan to Huddersfield Town for 2009/10 was designed to give him more experience, but despite playing well in 33 appearances, another loan – this time to Cardiff – was organised for 2010/11. The Englishman only stayed at Cardiff until January 2011 before United recalled him, but unfortunately, it wasn’t to use him, rather pack him off to Watford on another loan move.

Another loan to Barnsley followed before United gave up on the midfielder and sold him to Leicester City in January 2012. The move immediately paid off – Drinkwater became a key man for the Foxes during their promotion season in 2013/14, being shortlisted for Championship Player of the Season. And once in the Premier League, he proved he wasn’t out of his depth at all, as he starred in Leicester’s unlikely league triumph in 2015/16 – a season that saw them finish four places above United!

Drinkwater has since gone on to make three appearances for England and remains one of the Premier League’s most consistent midfielders. In fact, United would probably love to have him amongst their ranks right now as he’d be a ready-made replacement for the fading Michael Carrick. Perhaps they should’ve given him more of a chance all those years ago!

#5 Dion Dublin

Dion Dublin's Man United career was cut short due to his injuries

We have to go a long way back for this one, but Dion Dublin – now better known as a daytime TV presenter – was one of the first players to really flop at Old Trafford before going on to star elsewhere. Dublin was a prolific striker at Cambridge United during the early 1990’s as the club rose up from the basement of English football into the old Second Division – now the Championship.

After United missed out on signing Alan Shearer in the summer of 1992, manager Alex Ferguson instead turned to Dublin, who he signed for £1m – at that time a pretty large fee – and he was expected to lead the line in the inaugural 1992/93 Premier League season for United. Unfortunately, fate intervened – Dublin broke his leg in just his second match for United, and by the time he returned from the injury, Ferguson had signed Eric Cantona.

With the form of Cantona and Mark Hughes keeping Dublin way out of the first team, he was restricted to just a handful of appearances for United and then moved to Coventry City for £2m in September 1994. The move saw Dublin give his stalled career a much-need momentum as he established himself as one of the Premier League’s most prolific goalscorers, even at a struggling club, including winning the Golden Boot in 1997/98 with 18 goals.

His form at Coventry saw him break into the England set-up, as well as earn him a big money move to Aston Villa, where he continued to freely score goals in the Premier League until his career began to wind down in the mid-00s. He probably wouldn’t have succeeded as well as Cantona did at United, but Dion Dublin certainly stands out as a United flop who went onto plenty of success elsewhere.