In the same year that an 18-year-old Marcus Rashford was promoted to the senior squad, Manchester United let plenty of other youth prospects go.
With Louis van Gaal preparing for his second season in charge at Old Trafford, the summer of 2015 was a transformative one for United with Anthony Martial, Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay walking through the door.
The club also let plenty of players go, including six youth prospects who headed for pastures new. Here’s where they ended up.
Callum Evans
Right-back Evans never made it to the United first team having spent five years as part of the youth setup.
Instead, he moved to Barnsley and their under-21 side in 2015 but made just three first appearances before moving to Forest Green Rovers in 2017.
It was again a case of missed game time for Evans at the newly promoted League Two side and he dropped down to the National League to join Torquay on a three-month loan.
Evans was released by Forest Green in May 2018 and returned to Macclesfield Town for a second loan spell in January 2018.
He played 14 times as the club was promoted back to the Football League but after a material change with Moss Rose replacing John Asky, Evans struggled for matches and left in 2019.
He moved to Port Vale but spent just a year there before joining National League South club Bath City.
In January 2022 he joined Frome Town but left the club in January 2023 for a break from the game.
Tom Thorpe
Defender Thorpe made his only United appearance in September 2014 under Van Gaal after an injury crisis but was released at the end of his contract in 2015.
He moved to Rotherham, signing a two-year deal with the club, but was in and out of the team and by the time he left at the end of the 2016-17 season, Thorpe had played just eight times.
Whilst at Rotherham, he had two loan spells at Bradford and then Bolton but in 2017 he headed for now defunct club Atletico de Kolkata in India.
He returned to England to join Macclesfield before moving to Northern Premier League Division One West team Stalybridge Celtic where he currently plays.
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic
Serbian Milinkovic-Savic saw his United dream go up in smoke when he was denied a UK work permit in 2014 meaning the club had no choice but to release him in November 2015.
He signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with Polish club Lechia Gdansk and made 29 appearances before earning a move to Torino.
In Turin, Milinkovic-Savic was largely second choice behind Salvatore Sirigu, so he was sent out on loan to fellow Serie A side SPAL and then Serie B side Ascoli before claiming the number one jersey at Torino in the 2021-22 season.
He remains at the Italian outfit with the club mid-table in Serie A.
Jordan Thompson
Having never made a first team appearance, Thompson moved to his supported club Rangers in 2015 but played just twice for the Ibrox side.
During his time in Scotland, he moved on loan to Airdrieonians, Raith Rovers and Livingston before returning to England with Blackpool in 2018.
He made 56 appearances for the team before earning a move to Stoke City, where he remains to this day.
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Saidy Janko
The Swiss right-back joined the United youth setup in 2013 but never made it into the first team. Instead, he played 10 games on loan at Bolton before moving to Celtic in 2015.
Whilst at the Scottish champions, he spent a season on loan at Barnsley before moving to Saint-Etienne.
Despite 21 appearances, Janko was demoted to Saint-Etienne B for the 2017-18 season before moving to Porto in the summer.
He never played for the Portuguese side but instead was sent out on loan, including a year at Nottingham Forest, but joined Valladolid in 2020.
In 2023, he moved to Young Boys, who he had spent a season on loan with previously, where he still plays now.
Ryan McConnell
The once-captain of United’s under 21 side, McConnell left Old Trafford to return to Ireland and join Finn Harps in November 2015 but he made just one substitute appearance before joining Ballinamallard on loan in July 2016.
He joined permanently in January 2017 but left a year later and has not joined another club since.
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