Defenders
Right Back: Phil Bardsley
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Bardsley came up through Manchester United’s youth system having joined them in 1993 and soon became a regular in the under-17 and the under-19 teams. The 31-year-old finally made his first team debut against West Bromwich Albion in a League Cup fixture.
However, his career had come to stand still at United after having made less than 17 appearances over the course of five years for the club. The right-back had fallen out of favour at the club and was sent out on loan, with spells at Burnley and Rangers, where he was sent back to Manchester United after a training ground scuffle with the manager.
Sunderland paid just over £2 million for the defender, and he spent nearly six years with the club making over 200 appearances, even winning the Sunderland A.F.C. Player of the Year award for the 2010-11 season. However, a falling out between him and manager Paolo Di Canio lead to him leaving for Stoke City in 2014.
Centre Back: Ryan Shawcross
Ryan Shawcross made only two senior appearances for Manchester United, despite spending nearly four years at the Manchester United academy which was followed by a two-year stint in the reserves squad. He made 10 appearances for Manchester United’s reserve side, during the treble winning season where the side won the Manchester Senior Cup, FA Premier Reserve League North and FA Premier Reserve Playoff in the 2005-06 season.
He had loan spells with Royal Antwerp and Stoke City, before moving permanently to the Premier League club. It’s here that his career really took off and he became a big part of Stoke’s promotion to the Premier League in 2008 and their mid-table finishes since then. The 29-year-old has made 373 appearances for the Potters since his move, scoring 23 goals in the process.
A powerful defender, the Stoke City captain has been prone to a crunching tackle or two and can dominate the opposition team in the air, which allowed him to fit in perfectly with the rest of the Potters’ back four.
Centre Back: Michael Keane
The 23-year-old centre-back made just four senior appearances at Old Trafford and given that Manchester United haven’t exactly been flush with centre-halves in the past three years, it’s a wonder why they sold Keane who’s now been valued at somewhere around £25 million. Keane debuted as a 17-year-old under Sir Alex Ferguson, in a League Cup tie against Aldershot in 2011, but his sole Premier League appearance came only in 2014.
When Keane was trying to break through into the Manchester United team, the Red Devils still had Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand at the heart of their back four, which made it difficult for the youngster. Although he won Manchester United’s Reserve Team Player of the Year award in 2012, Keane was sent on loan to several Championship clubs, in Leicester City and Derby County's promotion efforts.
Now at Burnley, the English international has earned his first call-up and has flourished under manager Sean Dyche.
Left Back: Robbie Brady
The Dubliner arrived at Old Trafford as an awestruck teenager from St Kevin’s Boys in 2008. A product of the United youth system, Brady made just one first team appearance, as a substitute in the League Cup before he was sent out on loan to Hull City. It was initially supposed to be a six-month loan spell with the left-sided player returning in January but it was extended until the end of the season before he left again to Hull City on loan.
Eventually, Brady was given the go-ahead by Alex Ferguson to leave Manchester United, with the left-sided player unable to add to his solitary League Cup appearance. The Tigers made the deal permanent and the Irish international went on to make 123 appearances for the club, and had a part in 35 goals, scoring 14 of them, before moving to Norwich City.
Although he performed well with the Canaries, he experienced back-to-back relegations after the team finished 19th. It was then, Burnley broke their transfer record to sign the 25-year-old during this season’s January transfer window, and Brady marked his first goal for the side with a brilliantly taken free-kick against Chelsea.
