Previous United Manager Raids On Old Clubs

After Jose Mourinho's Manchester United secured the signing of Romelu Lukaku, we take a look at some previous occasions when a Reds manager was reunited with a former player...

Ray Wilkins (Dave Sexton - Chelsea)
The midfielder had made a real impression at Stamford Bridge, captaining the Blues at an early age, and the huge £825,000 fee in 1980 reflected this status. Sexton was an admirer of his fellow Londoner from their time together in the capital and managed to pull off the swoop. He went on to make 194 appearances for United before switching to AC Milan.

Remi Moses (Ron Atkinson - West Brom)
Ron Atkinson returned to The Hawthorns to land the tigerish midfield man within a couple of months of getting the Reds job. Manchester-born Moses jumped at the chance of joining his boyhood idols and a deal was struck for around £500,000. A vastly under-rated player, he racked up 199 games for the club.

Bryan Robson (Ron Atkinson - West Brom)
A British-record arrival for £1.5million in 1981, even though the Baggies had insisted they would not do business again with the Reds over their main man. United beat off competition from Liverpool for the England midfield dynamo and he signed on the pitch alongside Atkinson and chairman Martin Edwards before a win over Wolves. Robbo went on to become one of the greatest legends in United's history, scoring 99 goals in 461 appearances.

Laurie Cunningham (Ron Atkinson - West Brom)
Cunningham moved to Real Madrid from West Brom but was later reunited with Atkinson at Old Trafford
when he was brought to United on loan in 1983. The winger scored once, against Watford, in his three starts and two substitute appearances.

Jim Leighton (Sir Alex Ferguson - Aberdeen)
The no.1 for the Dons and Scotland national team emerged as the top goalkeeping target for Alex Ferguson in 1988. Although there was interest in Alex McLeish and Joe Miller, Leighton was the only Aberdeen man brought to Old Trafford by the boss, who had bided his time before being able to make his move when the stopper's contract came to an end at Pittodrie. His 94th and final appearance for the Reds came in the 1990 FA Cup final draw with Crystal Palace.

Marouane Fellaini (David Moyes - Everton)
There had been talk of interest in Leighton Baines and Fellaini all summer, once David Moyes took over the reins at United. On the last night of the transfer window, a deal was finally concluded with Everton to bring the big Belgian to Manchester and the midfielder commented: "I have known the manager for many years now and I have a lot of respect for his way of working." He has amassed 133 outings and been a key contributor.

Victor Valdes (Louis van Gaal - Barcelona)
The vastly-experienced keeper started training with United when regaining fitness after suffering a knee injury before his contract expired at the Nou Camp. Van Gaal and goalkeeping coach Frans Hoek decided to offer him a short-term contract and he made two appearances at the end of the 2015/16 season. He spent last season with Middlesbrough in the Premier League.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Jose Mourinho - Inter Milan)
The Swedish superstar had performed admirably under Mourinho at Inter and emerged as a natural target when his contract expired at Paris Saint-Germain. A spectacular free transfer was negotiated to revive a special relationship between two of football's out-and-out winners. Unfortunately, injury curtailed his season but only after his key goals had helped win the Community Shield and EFL Cup.