Manchester United fans would have walked away from their side’s goalless Premier League draw with Crystal Palace this weekend very frustrated with the toothless display on offer, having seen their wasteful team notch up 15 shots in total at Selhurst Park without scoring.
Spurning five big chances in the game too, it was a polar opposite display to the one just before this frustrating stalemate, where the Red Devils tore League One Barnsley to shreds 7-0 in the EFL Cup.
Erik ten Hag would have wanted more creativity from his midfielders on the day, as the likes of Bruno Fernandes were uncharacteristically sloppy on the ball, whilst holding midfielders Kobbie Mainoo and Christian Eriksen were also largely quiet.
At least the midfield options at the under-pressure manager’s disposal in the here and now are better than the ones previous Red Devils bosses have had to cope with, as Ten Hag’s fellow compatriot in Louis Van Gaal attempted to get out a tune out of Morgan Schneiderlin in 2015 to no avail.
Man Utd's signing of Schneiderlin
Schneiderlin joined the ranks at the Theatre of Dreams nine years ago as a bumper signing, joining for a fee in and around the £27m mark after leaving Southampton behind for pastures new in Manchester.
Becoming a dependable figure for the Saints around that time – with 261 appearances accumulated by the Frenchman in total at St. Mary’s across his lengthy South Coast stay – the move to the Red Devils would, unfortunately, be too much for the defensive midfielder to handle, cracking under the pressure of the big lights of Old Trafford.
The now retired midfielder would only go on to make 47 appearances for his new employers before being moved on to Everton, with just one goal and one assist managed across his forgettable stint too.
As such, United were forced to take a hit and sell Schneiderlin for £24m, just so they could get him off their roster, with the Red Devils flop more than content with moving on after never warming to his new location.
He would equally struggle for the Toffees to further expose United’s failings in the transfer department, with the Red Devils cursing their luck that they didn’t shop more effectively in the first place, as a “world class” talent – as he has been described by ex-Liverpool man Emre Can – was also available for cheap over pursuing Schneiderlin.
When United tried to sign Gundogan
According to Sky Sports back in 2015, United were ‘close’ to agreeing a stunning £21.5m deal for Ilkay Gundogan, with the then Borussia Dortmund midfielder’s contract coming to an end in the summer of the following year.
No such deal would materialise, as the German initially stuck it out at Signal Iduna Park, but there would have been some Red Devils supporters speculating on what could have been when the experienced head finally did make the leap to England a year later with arch rivals City.
Premier League
31
8
5
Champions League
13
1
2
FA Cup
3
2
0
EFL Cup
3
0
0
Community Shield
1
0
0
Whilst United have struggled to win major honours, Gundogan has helped City become a force to be reckoned with, accumulating 60 goals and 38 assists from 308 total games, with his efforts during his side’s treble winning 2022/23 season really sticking out.
Scoring 11 goals and picking up seven assists across winning the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, his two goals in the FA Cup final that campaign will be especially hard to stomach for supporters of United, with a bolt from the blue from the exceptional German helping Pep Guardiola’s men take the lead within 13 seconds against their side.
The Red Devils would have loved to have had a talent like Gundogan on their books – knowing that the German has become a serial winner at City – but their story involves the underwhelming pick up of Schneiderlin instead.
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Manchester United supporters would have been tearing their hair out after watching how wasteful their side was.
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