Manchester United have had mixed success with signings made in previous January transfer windows.
The 2026 winter transfer window is now closed and Manchester United decided against bringing in any extra players into Michael Carrick’s squad.
There have been major success stories from United’s January signings, but on the flip side, there have also been players who arrived and flopped at Old Trafford.
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One of United’s highest-profile signings made in January was the £35m signing of Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan heading in the other direction.
There was huge excitement about the Chilean making the move to Old Trafford, and many may have forgotten that he actually made a very quick start to life in a United shirt.
Huddersfield Town v Manchester United - Premier League
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Alexis Sanchez scored on his Man United home debut eight years ago
Alexis Sanchez arrived late in January 2018 and was handed the iconic No.7 shirt at United.
There was huge anticipation from the Old Trafford faithful to see him in action, and Sanchez’s home debut came exactly eight years ago today against Huddersfield Town.
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United beat Huddersfield 2-0 in the Premier League and Sanchez scored the second goal of the game. He saw his penalty saved but swept in the rebound to score his first goal at the Theatre of Dreams.
At the time, many United fans thought it would be the start of a fairytale journey with the Chilean forward, but it turned out to be quite the opposite.
What went wrong for Alexis Sanchez at Man United
Sanchez has been branded United’s ‘worst ever signing’, so it is fair to say that his time in Manchester turned into a disaster
Reports suggest Sanchez was unhappy from the first training session, so he essentially set himself up to fail at Old Trafford.
Five goals in 45 appearances for the Red Devils paints the picture of a failed signing, and a player who couldn’t wait to leave.
READ MORE: The last 13 permanent transfers Man Utd made in the January transfer window, includes two club legends
Sanchez ended up joining Inter Milan on loan in 2019 before making his move to the Italian club permanent.
It never worked out for him under Mourinho, and United fans were left scratching their heads at how it all went so wrong.
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