What Happened to the 4 Signings David Moyes Made at Man United

If Manchester United dig into the archives far enough, they’ll remember David Moyes’ 51-game reign following Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure. Backing his fellow countryman, Ferguson – following his final hurrah – told the Old Trafford faithful: “Your job now is to stand by our new manager. That is important.”

Moyes, now 62 years of age and currently at the helm of Everton, oversaw a singular season at Old Trafford before being replaced by Louis van Gaal after Ryan Giggs’ four-game caretaker period but went on to achieve Europa Conference League success with West Ham United in 2022/23.

But, for Manchester United supporters, he couldn’t provide the post-Ferguson boost that many expected. And despite the aforementioned words of encouragement from his compatriot, he was only able to sanction a quartet of arrivals to the Old Trafford ranks – but what are they up to nowadays?

Guillermo Varela

Current club: Flamengo

Kicking things off with the first senior arrival of Moyes’ brief stewardship, £2 million-worth Guillermo Varela was a young and hungry right-back looking to emulate the exploits of Gary Neville – but he failed at doing so and left permanently in 2017.

Before that, then-manager Jose Mourinho saw an opportunity for him to perfect his craft elsewhere and loaned him out to Eintracht Frankfurt for the 2016/17 campaign; but a knee injury stunted his growth and his days at Old Trafford were numbered.

Joining boyhood club Penarol, who play in his native Uruguay, in the process, he left with just 11 senior Manchester United outings under his belt. Now enjoying the twilight period of his career in Brazil for Flamengo, Varela has turned out for Copenhagen too.

An established team in Europe, the defender struggled to pull up trees in Denmark. Russian outfit Dynamo Moscow were also his employers between 2020-2021 and 2021-2023. He has made 26 appearances for his country and is set to feature in their 2026 World Cup campaign.

Marouane Fellaini

Current club: Retired

Moyes and Marouane Fellaini, by virtue of their time at Everton together, already had a pre-existing relationship and his £27.5 million-worth switch on the last day of the 2013 summer transfer window seemed a seamless transition.

Albeit not the best from a technical standpoint, the Belgian engine room operator’s imposing height wreaked havoc in both boxes – and his knack of popping up at the right time in the right places was imperative to Manchester United’s fortunes.

After notching a respectable 33 goals and 23 assists from central midfield in 177 outings for the Red Devils, the 87-cap Belgium international opted to move to China to play for SD Taishan.

As one of the biggest football stars to retire in 2024, Fellaini called it quits and hung up his boots last year as a Premier League cult hero – one remembered best for chaotically crashing into the box and leaping above the rest.

Saidy Janko

Current club: Young Boys

Undoubtedly the worst of Moyes’ quartet of arrivals was Swiss youngster Saidy Janko, who has since switched his allegiance to The Gambia. Now a 10-cap international, he arrived at Old Trafford – for £750,000 – to plenty of excitement.

The buzz surrounding the right-back’s arrival quickly dwindled following his first, and what happened to be his last, appearance in the famous Manchester United strip – that Van Gaal-led 4-0 defeat to MK Dons.

Since, he’s been here, there and everywhere. He left for Celtic in the summer of 2015 and has played for Barnsley, Saint-Ettiene, Porto, Young Boys, Real Valladolid, VfL Bochum across Europe – and, most notably, made a return to England in 2018.

Joining then-Championship outfit Nottingham Forest, he played 17 times before moving onto pastures new. As of 2025, the 30-year-old is on the books of Swiss side Young Boys.

Juan Mata

Current club: Melbourne Victory

The finest of the bunch, Juan Mata joined from Chelsea in January 2014 as one of the most exciting, and unpredictable, talents in the Premier League and went on to forge a terrific, 285-outing career in the northwest of England.

Commonly viewed as one of the best Spanish players to ply their trade in the English top tier, the classy attacking midfielder endeared himself to the Old Trafford faithful and will long be remembered as a technician of the highest order.

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A 2010 World Cup winner with his native Spain, Mata left in the summer of 2022 to join Galatasaray on a free transfer. A year and a mere 18 appearances in Turkey later, he moved to Vissel Kobe before leaving after a five-month period.

Spending his swansong in Australia for Melbourne Victory, the majority of Mata’s appearances typically come off the bench – but that’s just part and parcel of reaching the end of your career. A terrific, yet criminally underrated, footballer who never got the flowers he deserved.