Every African player is set to play for Manchester United – Man United news and transfer news | The People’s Person

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Manchester United routinely scours the world for football talent and is represented by players who are good, great and not so great from all over the world.

The Red Devils signed Cameroonian forward Bryan Mbeumo as part of an attacking overhaul this summer, and he is already working well with Ivorian livewire Amad and Moroccan defender Noussair Mazraoui.

The former Brentford man became the fourteenth African player to represent the club when he started against Arsenal in August. Here we look at every African player set to play for United, in chronological order.

1. Quinton Fortune (South Africa)

Man United’s first African player, Fortune arrived at Old Trafford to strengthen a vibrant team that had just won the Treble. The problem was not necessarily with the player, who had built a great reputation in Atletico Madrid’s B team, but with the squad in which he was included.

Fortune played as a central midfielder or as a full-back and therefore fought for places with the likes of Paul Scholes, Roy Keane and Denis Irwin. Unsurprisingly, he struggled to dislodge them all, and when opportunities presented themselves he was invariably sidelined through injury.

Fortune was part of three title-winning sides, but did not play enough games in any season to win a medal (although he did take one in 2003 thanks to a special dispensation from the league). He left Old Trafford after 126 games to join Bolton Wanderers and returned years later to work on his coaching badges, spending a year as an U23 assistant coach.

2. Eric Djemba-Djemba (Cameroon)

Unfortunately, the Cameroonian’s ‘so good they named him twice’ label drips with sarcasm as the midfielder flatly failed to impress at Old Trafford. Signed from Nantes, Djemba-Djemba arrived as a potential replacement for Keane – an almost impossible task for anyone and especially for this indomitable lion, who played more like a lost puppy.

After 39 appearances in 18 months at United, he embarked on a fascinating world tour of football, starting with Aston Villa and Burnley before moving on to clubs in Qatar, Denmark, Israel, Serbia, Scotland, India and Indonesia.

3. Manucho (Angola)

Angolan striker Manucho is going down after another of United’s swing-and-a-miss transfers. Rather than an inspired venture from an unlikely source, the forward – who was 24 when United signed him from Angolan side Petro Atletico – played just three times for the Red Devils before being loaned out to Hull City and then permanently to Real Valladolid.

4. Mother Biram Diouf (Sengal)

Looking for a new striker United signed Mame Biram Diouf from Norwegian side Molde, but if they were hoping for a new Ole Gunnar Solskjaer they were sorely disappointed. Sir Alex Ferguson announced that the club acted quickly to secure his signature after other clubs joined the race, but ultimately there was nothing to worry about. Diouf scored once in nine games for United before moving to Hanover, but made his mark on English football during a 157-game spell at Stoke City.

5. Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast)

Zaha was Ferguson’s last signing as United boss but did nothing to continue his legacy and made just four appearances. Zaha was immediately loaned back to Crystal Palace after joining the Red Devils, returning to a club managed by David Moyes who had little interest in integrating the exciting winger.

The Ivorian returned to Palace on a season-long loan at Cardiff City, where he became a club legend. A return to Old Trafford was often mooted, but would never happen. The player left the Premier League for Galatasaray after 458 appearances for the Eagles.

6. Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast)

The first African player to make a serious impact on arrival and immediately stake a claim for a first-team spot, Bailly’s bombastic defense was exciting to watch and difficult to play against.

Sometimes brash but always full of gas, the centre-back was plagued by injuries throughout his time at Old Trafford, meaning he could never reach the heights his raw talent promised. He was a key part of the side that won the Europa League in 2017, but typically missed the final due to suspension after seeing red against Ajax in the semi-final.

Bailly was never really part of Erik ten Hag’s plans and through no real fault of his own, he became another piece of dead wood that needed to be hewn out. He was loaned to Marseille and then joined Besiktas, having made 113 appearances for United.

7. Odion Ighalo (Nigeria)

Rarely has a player so clearly lived a boyhood dream as Ighalo, who played in a United shirt, with the number 25 on the back as a nod to the club’s first African player, Fortune. The Nigerian took a pay cut and dropped everything to move to Old Trafford on loan from Shanghai Shenhua in the hope of being the answer to the Red Devils’ desperate need for a clinical striker.

That didn’t quite work, with five goals in 23 games, in which he often lacked pace, but never lacked effort. He produced a moment of magic with a stunning half-volley against LASK, but his time at the Theater of Dreams quickly ended and he moved to Al Shabab.

8. Amad (Ivory Coast)

Amad, United’s longest-serving current African player, joined for big money from Atalanta and promptly disappeared from view. A decent loan at Rangers was followed by an incendiary loan at Sunderland, and by the time the diminutive Ivorian returned to Old Trafford it was a real deal.

Under Ten Hag, Amad has been an exciting forward who provided goals and assists to lift an ailing United team, and Ruben Amorim has deployed him as a marauding full-back to great effect.

Amad is still only 23 and has a bright future ahead of him at Old Trafford on the right wing. He has satisfactorily proven those who doubted his £37m transfer wrong in 2020.

9. Hannibal (Tunisia)

The Red Devils picked up Hannibal as part of a recruitment drive to secure Europe’s best young talent, and his signing from Monaco was seen as a coup for Manchester.

The combative midfielder looked ready to break into a major role at Old Trafford, but his United career never really took off, apart from the great cameo against Liverpool. He left with thirteen appearances, one goal and a sense of what could have been.

10. André Onana (Cameroon)

Onana had big gloves to fill when he was signed to replace David de Gea in the United goal, and despite the odd good performance, he will mainly be remembered for his substantial blooper role. The Cameroonian bore the brunt of fans’ frustration as Ten Hag’s time at the club deteriorated and continued to be disappointing under Amorim.

After 102 games for United, he left on loan to Trabzonspor and is unlikely to return following the signing of Senne Lammens. Good with his feet, but too often weak with his hands, which is probably for the best.

11. Altay Bayindir (Turkey)

Bayindir signed a few weeks after Onana took part in a major overhaul of United’s goalkeeping department and had to wait between the sticks for his chance. Some 18 months after joining the club, the former Fenerbahce man got his first Premier League appearance in a 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United.

The Turk was given the perfect opportunity to make the position his own when Onana’s form hit an all-time low and started the season as United’s No. 1, but he never really convinced and seems as error-prone as the Cameroonian.

12. Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco)

With United panicking over the state of the midfield following Fred’s departure and looking for a Casemiro contingency plan, they signed Amrabat on a loan deal from Fiorentina on deadline day.

The energetic midfielder was a familiar face to Ten Hag, who managed him at Utrecht, but United chose not to make the deal permanent at the end of the season. Amrabat made thirty appearances and was a reliable player. He was stuck in midfield or as a makeshift left-back, but the Red Devils eventually pursued Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain.

13. Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco)

The Moroccan full-back can rightly say that he is one of the best things the Red Devils have achieved in the past twenty years. Signed from Bayern Munich for just £12.8million, the Ten Hag favorite immediately strengthened the right side of United’s defence.

Mazraoui has also become a key figure under Amorim, having deployed him successfully as a right wing-back or right centre-back, and is in his prime at the age of 27.

14. Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon)

After an exciting and then exhausting transfer saga finally ended with the arrival of Mbeumo from Brentford to Old Trafford, United could congratulate themselves on securing the signature of one of the Premier League’s best strikers.

The powerful Cameroonian scored his first United goal during the ill-fated Carabao Cup trip to Grimsby, and followed it up with his first in the competition three days later. Mbeumo has made a fantastic start at United and if he can keep up his form, there’s no telling how good he could be.

Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images

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