Manchester United is one of the biggest football clubs in Europe in every sense. With millions of fans worldwide and big names coming to and leaving the club on a yearly basis, it is to be expected that some of the transfers the club makes will be a huge success and others not as much.

Over the years, the Red Devils have changed many different coaches, following the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, who left a significant, if not legendary, impact on the club and all those related to it. We take a look at some of the biggest transfer gambles that United’s coaches have made in recent years and whether they were a success or a failure.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2016)

Financially speaking, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s arrival was never really a gamble, considering that the prolific Swedish striker arrived to England on a free transfer, following the expiration of his contract. However, considering how much was expected from Zlatan, this transfer was quite a big gamble.

Financially, Zlatan brought millions to the club through his strong marketing presence that saw shirt sales and stadium attendance grow significantly. Past this, it was time to look at his actual performances on the pitch, and these too were as impressive as his marketing results.

Zlatan scored 28 goals for Red Devils in his debut season under Jose Mourinho and he helped the club win the Europa League title, despite not being available in the finals due to injury. On the domestic front, Zlatan did very well but the club as a whole didn’t manage to impress as they finished in a humble sixth position.

While Zlatan was not able to take the club to the top of England in his debut season, we can easily say that Mourinho’s gamble paid off big time, as Zlatan did exactly what he was brought to do, and then some.

Daley Blind (2014)

There are some players who excel at playing a certain position, but will fail miserably, and Daley Blind is most certainly not one of those players. While Louis Van Gaal’s reign at United was not a glorious one, the gamble he made on Blind has certainly paid dividends for the club.

After over 120 appearances for the team, it can be said with confidence that Blind’s original price of £13.6 Million was quite a bargain. Playing mostly in left back, but also in multiple other positions, Blind has managed to adapt and improve with time and has constantly helped Untied achieve good results defensively.

While Daley Blind is certainly not a player you could call a superstar, his incredible adaptability makes him the kind of utility player that any coach would be happy to have on his team. Daley Blind was possibly Van Gaal’s best gamble at United.

Paul Pogba (2016)

When Mourinho arrived, it was clear that United would change in a big way and the arrival of superstar Paul Pogba was one of the things that the fans looked forward to the most. At £89 Million, the Frenchman was quite an investment but everyone expected him to succeed at the club.

Be as it may, Pogba actually started his Manchester spell quite poorly and was not the kind of superstar player that the fans expected at first. Pogba did manage to turn things around for himself quite quickly though, delivering a proper master class in the Europa League finals and helping Manchester finally win a major title again.

Whether Paul Pogba was an investment worth nearly £100 Million remains to be seen in the coming seasons, but it would seem that the Frenchman has now settled into the club quite well and that the midfielder is set for a great spell at a great club.

What Is To Come?

The transfer period is on and Mourinho is right in the thick of things battling it out for the likes of Romelu Lukaku and other superstars. Whether United will come out on top of another transfer period remains to be seen but the one sure thing is that some gambles will be made with hopes of great returns.