Louis van Gaal’s reign as Manchester United manager ended a decade ago and the Dutchman’s overall time at Old Trafford included some eyebrow-raising transfers.
From flops like Angel Di Maria and Memphis Depay to better success stories like Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw, Louis van Gaal enjoyed both the highs and the lows.
However, Van Gaal’s time in the Old Trafford hot seat after he replaced David Moyes did not come without other players who have slipped out of the minds of fans.
The biggest example of a forgotten Manchester United signing in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era came with the Red Devils’ acquisition of Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
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What even happened to Vanja Milinkovic-Savic during his time under Louis van Gaal at Man Utd?
Manchester United landed Vanja Milinkovic-Savic when he was only 17 years old in 2014, with the Spain-born shot-stopper being part of the Vojvodina youth set-up.
The Red Devils wasted no time in loaning Milinkovic-Savic back to Serbian side Vojvodina ahead of the first full season under Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford.
Despite United paying a reported €1.75m fee for the 29-year-old Serbia international, Milinkovic-Savic never made a senior appearance for United.
The former Vojvodina talent later completed a move to Polish side Lechia Gdansk, but it was the failure to secure a UK work permit that stopped his Man Utd career.
Van Gaal was sacked as Man Utd manager in 2016 and Milinkovic-Savic became a distant memory for United fans before his senior career picked up for him.
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Vanja Milinkovic-Savic’s success post-Louis van Gaal saw later links to Man Utd further into his playing career
Milinkovic-Savic was able to kick-start his career in a major way in the Serie A, the key location that he has mainly resided at since his 2017 move to Italian side Torino.
However, the former Man Utd signing’s time at Torino was only one part of his chapter, having had multiple loan spells at different clubs in Europe.
From SPAL and Ascoli in Italy to Standard Liege in Belgium, Torino shot-stopper Milinkovic-Savic spent last season out on loan at Serie A side Napoli.
Milinkovic-Savic did attract United’s eye on more than one occasion in his post-Old Trafford playing days and the Red Devils appeared interested in signing him.
However, United opted not to land the former Van Gaal signing last summer and instead brought Senne Lammens to Old Trafford on deadline day in 2025.
Serbia were not in the European Union when Milinkovic-Savic tried to secure his work permit for his initial Man Utd run and scuppered a ‘what-if’ scenario for him.
According to Football Italia in 2025, Napoli have an obligation to buy former United shot-stopper Milinkovic-Savic for a €19m transfer fee as part of their loan deal.
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