Manchester United, revisiting summer 2012: Transfer successes and fails
By Tom Bogert
Nick Powell /// £4million /// Failure
Powell was a resounding failure at Manchester United, simple as.
The midfielder signed from Crewe Alexandra as a young player with huge potential. Powell had represented England at the youth levels and got his debut with Crewe when he was just 16.
Manchester United loaned him out a few times, because that was always the plan, but he never made an impact away from the club. Not enough to warrant playing time or a new deal, of course, and Powell was released this summer.
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Powell made just three appearances for Manchester United, though he did score once. Decent return rate for a midfielder? Small sample size. He stayed at United that first season and largely played in the reserves.
In the car wash of loan deals that’d follow three successive years, Wigan were up first in 2013/14. It was successful from the outside looking in as he made 42 appearances in all competitions, scoring 12 goals.
The next season, he was upgraded to Leicester City. He made just a treble of appearances for the Foxes before seeing his loan cut early due to a lack of commitment in training.
Powell would get a chance with Hull City in February 2016, but he’d just make five appearances before the season ended before being released by Manchester United.
Wigan signed him on a free deal and he’s made four appearances thus far this season, scoring one goal. He’s still just 22 years old.
Next: Alex Buttner