6 Players Manchester United Should Not Have Let Go in the Premier League Era
As the Paul Pogba rumours swell to fever pitch around Manchester United, what better time to look back on the ones who got away.
L'Equipe reported on Wednesday United are on the verge of instigating an expensive reunion with Pogba (h/t Eurosport), but the France international is not the only player the Red Devils have let slip through their fingers in recent years.
Before we get to the list, a few notable departures were considered but did not make it, and those players should be acknowledged. Ruud van Nistelrooy had plenty left to offer when he left in 2006, but United's style of play changed dramatically in his wake, and the side Sir Alex Ferguson built around Cristiano Ronaldo thereafter was no slouch.
Ronaldo himself was a contender, but he clearly wanted a move and has obviously felt at home at Real Madrid. With that said, his departure never quite felt like that of a player United "let go."
David Beckham was another whose time at the club appeared to come to a mutual end. On the pitch, he was no less effective, and United certainly missed his set pieces over the subsequent decade. However, the world tour he undertook, taking in Madrid, Milan, Los Angeles and Paris, felt a perfect match for Beckham, and United successfully rebuilt in his absence.
Finally, and perhaps controversially, Carlos Tevez was considered. Tevez has become unpopular at United since his departure in 2009 thanks to his time at Manchester City, but he was once a cult hero at Old Trafford.
He missed out on a spot on the list thanks to the rumoured transfer fee City had to pay for his services, which "may have been as high as £47 million," per Jamie Jackson in the Guardian. In 2009, that was an awful lot of money.
Also, Tevez was not that sorely missed by a United side that won two of the next four seasons' league titles, missing out on the two they did not win by one point and goal difference respectively.
With that addressed, let's take a look at the players who made the final cut.
Patrice Evra
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Since leaving Manchester United in 2014, Patrice Evra has won two Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia trophies and got to the finals of the Champions League and Euro 2016. Not bad for a player who was 33 when he departed M16.
He left in the summer Louis van Gaal was appointed as David Moyes' replacement. It was the same summer Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand ended their United tenures, meaning an enormous amount of institutional experience was lost in in one fell swoop.
It was Evra who should have stayed, though. Both Vidic and Ferdinand have since retired. His leadership could have helped fill the void left by the departures of two other members of Ferguson's last great back four.
He could have helped Luke Shaw—his long-term replacement—adapt, taking on the kind of mentoring role he obviously held within the France squad this past summer.
His love for the club and winning personality would have been an important asset in the dressing room, and on the pitch, he would have got plenty of minutes given Shaw's troubles adjusting during his first year at United and unfortunate injury last season.
Evra has enjoyed something of a renaissance since leaving United, which perhaps would not have happened had he stayed, but he has been much missed and should have been kept around for at least one more year.
Phil Neville
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Phil Neville is certainly not the first player who leaps out when considering the ones who got away at United. In truth, though, had Sir Alex known how difficult it would be to find any kind of heir to Roy Keane, he might have kept the utility man he had on staff around a little longer.
Neville left in the summer of 2005, a few months before Keane was sacked. Over the subsequent few years, United's midfield lacked the kind of bite he could have helped provide. With the exception of the 2007/08 season, when Owen Hargreaves was able to play regular minutes, the Red Devils never had a tigerish destroyer of the type Neville turned into.
He probably would not have earned the club any more Champions League wins, but in a couple of the seasons when they narrowly missed out on the Premier League title, another midfield option could not have hurt.
In retrospect, though, no one would have predicted at the time that United should have held onto Neville a little longer.
Either Javier Hernandez or Danny Welbeck
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This is surely cheating, but Van Gaal should have held onto one of Danny Welbeck or Javier Hernandez in 2014—the latter departing permanently in 2015.
There are arguments in favour of either. Hernandez the archpoacher, whose movement in the box could have helped stretch defences who sat deep against Van Gaal's side. His finishing ability would have been a good fit for Van Gaal's reliance on his strikers' ability to score from a small number of chances.
Welbeck, on the other hand, had the kind of all-around game that could have enhanced United's buildup play, possessing as he does the ability to find a spark of inspiration when linking up with his team-mates. His lack of composure in front of goal would certainly have remained an issue, but it is hard not to think his presence would have improved United's static, immobile attack under Van Gaal.
Getting rid of one of the two was understandable given the rebuilding job that was undertaken. Getting rid of both was a big mistake.
Rafael da Silva
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Rafael da Silva is a full-back with flaws. His impulsiveness never permanently left him during his time at United, and the sending off he received against Van Gaal's Bayern Munich in the Champions League in 2010 may have loomed large in the then-manager's mind when he let the Brazilian go last summer.
On the other hand, it may simply have been the injury issues he struggled with that counted against him.
Either way, the club got rid of him too quickly. His attacking verve, his terrier-like tenacity and his combative nature made him a big fan favourite. He was capable of moments of magic—his goal against Liverpool in September 2012 being a fine example—and under Sir Alex looked to be developing into a well-rounded full-back. In 2012/13, for example, he was one of United's best performers.
It is hard not to think manager Jose Mourinho would have loved him.
Jaap Stam
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In an interview with the Daily Mirror in 2014, Sir Alex said of selling Jaap Stam:
"It was one of the mistakes I made—hopefully I haven't made too many—but that was one.
I got this offer from Lazio for £18.5million. Was it £18.5million? No, £16.5million I think it was, and I says, 'Can't turn it down. He's 30 years of age.'
I thought if we could get Laurent Blanc for a year or so and bring the young ones through—like Wes Brown and John O'Shea—but it backfired.
"
If Ferguson thinks it was a mistake, it was certainly a mistake. After Stam left in 2001, it was not until the partnership of Ferdinand and Vidic was assembled in 2006 that United had a truly elite centre-back pairing again. Who knows how much more European glory would have been on the cards had Stam stayed for a couple more years.
Paul Pogba
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And speaking of mistakes Sir Alex made, here is a potentally expensive one.
If, as looks likely from reports, United are prepared to break the world-record transfer fee for Pogba's return, then not fighting harder to hold onto him when he was coming through the ranks at Old Trafford looks even more of a error.
Fortunately, unlike with Stam, United are in a position to correct this, albeit at the hefty price of €120 million. It is, though, a price well worth paying.
After all, he is the exact player Mourinho and United need.
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