Worst players we’ve been linked with

Alex99

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James Mccarthy.
We're we actually linked with him or did the caf just collectively lose their minds during the midfield-drought?

I remember getting absolutely slated for saying he was shite at the time but people were so desperate for us to sign literally anyone who could play in midfield you'd have thought he was Keane and Scholes rolled into one the way some people went on.
 

James Peril

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Yeah. We were basically linked with half the Dutch national team :lol:

We ended up signing Rojo so maybe Vlaar wouldn’t have been so bad after all!
Ron Vlaar is a funny first mention to be fair, he was a solid player and would have done a good job as a backup. No worse than Maguire, but of course back then we perhaps had better players than Maguire to begin with.
 

wise_old_man

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James Mccarthy.
We're we actually linked with him or did the caf just collectively lose their minds during the midfield-drought?

I remember getting absolutely slated for saying he was shite at the time but people were so desperate for us to sign literally anyone who could play in midfield you'd have thought he was Keane and Scholes rolled into one the way some people went on.
I believe we were linked with him after we failed to land Arturo Vidal in summer 2014 (Were we even in for Vidal, or just the CAF being too desperate?). It was a huge step-down yet people tried to convince themselves that Vidal wasn't a role model, and he had such a problem with injury, while McCarthy was proven already in the League.

If we turn back the clock for even 1 year earlier, people were also too desperate for a midfielder in Moyes's dithering summer that I saw someone claimed "What Fabregas actually does that Fellaini cannot?". Crazy times indeed.
 

Acole9

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We're we actually linked with him or did the caf just collectively lose their minds during the midfield-drought?

I remember getting absolutely slated for saying he was shite at the time but people were so desperate for us to sign literally anyone who could play in midfield you'd have thought he was Keane and Scholes rolled into one the way some people went on.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.jo...-after-irish-midfielder-james-mccarthy-433003
Not the best link but I remember so at the time. One of the most bang average players going. Another central midfielder fond of the five yard sideways pass.
 

GueRed

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Celio Silva is a great shout, didn’t we actually sign him but couldn’t get the work permit & end up with Ronny Johnsen instead?

Marcos Senna was an excellent player.



Good shouts. Added to list. Just remembered Kevin Hoffland too, Dutch CB from a couple of years after that time.

Another blast from the past.

Hofland the young PSV centre-back.
I remember his name being constantly linked to United around 2000 and 2001.

I think he suffered with alot of injuries..
 

V.O.

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Ron Vlaar is a funny first mention to be fair, he was a solid player and would have done a good job as a backup. No worse than Maguire, but of course back then we perhaps had better players than Maguire to begin with.
:lol:
 

FrankDrebin

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Callum McManaman ,purely based on being MOTM in the FA Cup final against City.
 

wolvored

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Thomas Meunier looked like a semi-professional for Dortmund this season.

Adem Ljajić. He predictably ended up with Beşiktaş.
Thats it. I couldnt remember his name. Thanks.
 

GueRed

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Marc Vivien Foe (RIP)

Summer 1998. Talks were going well with the club and the player then he broke his leg just before the world cup.

Wasnt a bad player but no way would've have broken into our world class midfield.


Frederic Dehu

Another player from Ligue 1 we were heavily linked to that summer '98.

Lens centre-back who could also play defensive-midfielder. Not a bad player.

Eventually got his big move to Barcelona a year later but hardly got a look in.
 

Strats

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Andreas Granqvist, at the end of Joses tenure.

If we would have signed him and played him we'd be relegated.
 

Irrational.

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Felipe Anderson
Mahamadou Diarra
Didier Zokora
Alvaro Morata
Andrea Belotti
Sebastian Haller
Harry Kewell
Cicinho
Van der Vaart
Aaron Lennon
Samir Nasri
Morten Gamst Pedersen
 

GueRed

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Mick Harford

‘Our pitch was terrible. That’s why I tried to sign Mick Harford. To try and play football on that pitch was impossible and I thought if I got Mick, we could have just played it up there and let Mick whack the centre-halves out of the road. That was a mistake. We should have signed him.’

"Mick Harford struck me as the man who could give us aerial deadliness and I spoke to David Pleat, the Luton manager, about him. Sadly, I did not show enough resolve to push the deal through. If I had acted as purposefully as I should have done, we would have won the League."

Alex Ferguson Managing My Life
 

GueRed

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Mark Fish - In 1996 he turned us down to join Lazio

Brett Emerton - Before he joined Feyenoord we were linked to him quite a bit
 

Adam-Utd

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think the longstaff and josh king signings were the most underwhelming I can remember. so happy they both fell through!
 

hobbers

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Willian and Dier under Mourinho.

King and Longstaff under Ole.

Grim fecking signings the lot of them.
 

gormless

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Felipe Anderson
Mahamadou Diarra
Didier Zokora
Alvaro Morata
Andrea Belotti
Sebastian Haller
Harry Kewell
Cicinho
Van der Vaart
Aaron Lennon
Samir Nasri
Morten Gamst Pedersen
Diarra would have been excellent for us - better the version of Hargreaves we got.

I was so gutted about missing out on Cicinho. Terrestrial tv had the Confederates Cup one year and he was incredible. Think he became an alcoholic.
 

Pretzels81

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Add to that list S. Umtiti and Dembélé. Not sure why we are remotely interested in injury prone players with dubious professionalism.
 

Irrational.

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Diarra would have been excellent for us - better the version of Hargreaves we got.

I was so gutted about missing out on Cicinho. Terrestrial tv had the Confederates Cup one year and he was incredible. Think he became an alcoholic.
Agreed about both. I even remember Neville showed Cicinho around Carrington and fuming once Real snapped him up - they went through a spell of snapping up all of our targets.
 

Lay

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Diarra would have been excellent for us - better the version of Hargreaves we got.

I was so gutted about missing out on Cicinho. Terrestrial tv had the Confederates Cup one year and he was incredible. Think he became an alcoholic.
I raved about Cicinho to my friends at college. Told them he was the best fullback in the world . They first saw him against Arsenal when Madrid lost 1-0 and he was diabolical. Tragic performance. Never lived that one down
 

Schmeichel's Cartwheel

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Add to that list S. Umtiti and Dembélé. Not sure why we are remotely interested in injury prone players with dubious professionalism.
Maybe wouldn’t be right for us but I don’t think we can list them in the worst players we’ve ever been linked with.

Ottamendi
Started in a 100 point team & was named in TOTY. Don’t think he belongs on this list to be honest.