[ad_pod ]
Manchester United's midfielder Fred has been one of the worst signings of the summer. The Brazilian moved to the Premier League following a £53m move from Shakhtar Donetsk in July but has failed to reproduce the calibre of performance he did so regularly with the Ukrainian outfit on the European stage, and United must surely feel aggrieved that they couldn't bring in Watford's Domingos Quina for a sliver of that price.
Missed a trick
The Red Devils have had a miserable week. Jose Mourinho's men lost to Valencia in the Champions League - thus ensuring they failed to top their group - before setting up for a draw against bitter rivals Liverpool and being absolutely battered, first by the Reds and then by pundits who ripped their apathetic showing to shreds.
However, Ed Woodward and co should feel that the biggest loss taken from their torrid seven days should be that they didn't cough up a measly £1m in the summer to acquire the services of then West Ham man Domingos Quina - the 19-year-old was on fire for Watford at the weekend.
The Portuguese signed for the Hornets on deadline day for just £1m as he refused to sign a new contract with West Ham, who decided to cash in on the youngster rather than risk losing him on a free. The Red Devils were sniffing around but the midfielder opted for a move to Vicarage Road instead and thus the big heads at Old Trafford must be cursing their luck.
They should have been Quina
The versatile teenager scored his side's third in a 3-2 win over in-form Cardiff - a delicious first time effort from outside the box - while impressing alongside Abdoulaye Doucoure at the base of Javi Gracia's four-man midfield and, for just £1m, looks like a fantastic buy with a huge scope for improvement.
Meanwhile, United's Fred has had far from the transformative effect he was expected to have on the giants' midfield as he makes just eight starts and scores one goal in the league - comparatively, this was only Quina's second start and he looked, ironically, fifty times the player.
United must learn that the key to success isn't (always) found in throwing huge amounts of money at the transfer market - they have truly missed out on what could have been Mourinho's shrewdest signing to date.