3. Mame Diouf
On 17 July 2009, Molde and Manchester United announced that a transfer had been agreed for the player. Diouf was loaned back to Molde for the remainder of the Norwegian 2009 season, before joining his new teammates in Manchester in January 2010.
“We signed a young player yesterday from Norway, who we’ve been looking at for two years,” United manager Alex Ferguson said. “We weren’t intending on signing anyone else after last week – we feel we have a full squad – but the situation accelerated to a point where other clubs started to make bids, so we had to decide whether we acted or didn’t act. We decided to act and he’ll be the last person we sign.”
When Norwegian newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad spoke to Diouf about the shock move, he said “playing for Manchester has always been a dream of mine ever since I was a small boy, I hope that when I move in January, I will have a big impact, I am confident of playing very well”.
Diouf made his home debut for United in a 3–0 win over Burnley on 16 January 2010, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute for Wayne Rooney. In stoppage time at the end of the game, Diouf scored his first goal for United; after being played in by Antonio Valencia, he looped a header over Burnley goalkeeper Brian Jensen and celebrated with a flip in front of the Stretford End before pointing to the name on the back of his shirt.
Diouf signed for Hannover 96 in January 2012 after just five league appearances and that solitary goal for United. In 2014 he signed for Stoke City where he has made over 100 appearances since.
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