4. Ritchie de Laet
An even more surprising deal than Henrik Larsson, Ritchie de Laet signed from Stoke City at the beginning of 2009 on a three-year deal. Not only was it a shock because nobody knew that United had any interest in the defender, but the vast majority of United fans didn't actually know who he was. But he made just six appearances for the team and was not preferred over the likes of Michael Carrick at the back in times of an injury crisis. Several loan moves to the likes of Wrexham, Sheff United, Preston, Portsmouth and finally Norwich were met with inconsistent performances before he was finally allowed to join Leicester in 2012. Ferguson's reluctance to trust him with first team duties with the main exception of cup games is a little odd, and begs the question as to why he was purchased in the first place. But, despite some positive performances early on, he was deemed to be not good enough and is now trying to build his reputation in the Championship. A performance-based transfer fee means that the club didn't really make too much of a loss here, or he could have been higher up the list.