Manchester United will be looking to snap their losing streak this weekend when they face Everton.
The Red Devils welcome the Toffees to Old Trafford on Saturday after losing to Fulham and Manchester City in successive Premier League games. A familiar person could be seeking to inflict damage on Erik ten Hag.
James Garner, a Manchester United academy alumnus, is currently an important player of Everton’s squad. He is not the only former Red Devil to return to Old Trafford following a move to Merseyside.
In reality, 12 players from the Premier League era have left Manchester United for Everton. Take a peek at how they’ve all gotten on since their various transfers…
Andrei Kanchelskis (1995, £5m)
The winger was the first player to transfer from Old Trafford to Goodison Park during the Premier League era, having played four years with the Red Devils. During that time, he helped the club win two league titles.
Kanchelskis became Everton’s record acquisition in 1995 and had a successful debut as a Toffee, scoring twice in a memorable Merseyside derby triumph over Liverpool. Due to financial concerns, he was sold to Italian club Fiorentina.
He has since represented Rangers, Manchester City, and Southampton. He has also pursued a coaching career, now leading Kyrgyzstan’s Muras United club.
John O’Kane (1998, £1m)
O’Kane, a Manchester United academy graduate, came through at the same time as the Class of 1992. However, he did not receive the same number of opportunities as some of his brilliant former teammates.
He made just seven appearances for the Red Devils before being sold for about £1 million. The defender became an important player for Everton, helping them stay up on the final day of the season.
Following Walter Smith’s arrival at Goodison, O’Kane fell down the pecking order before being moved to Bolton. He retired with Hyde United in 2006.
Jesper Blomqvist (2001, free)
Blomqvist, maybe best known for being substituted off, was replaced by Teddy Sheringham in the 1999 Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich. It didn’t get much better than that during his tenure as a Red Devil.
Blomqvist made only 25 appearances over three seasons due to injuries before joining Everton on a short-term contract. He was at Goodison Park for only eight months before moving for Charlton.
Blomqvist worked briefly as a coach before becoming a pundit in his home country. He won Celebrity Masterchef in Sweden last year and already has a pizza.
Phil Neville (2005, £3.5m)
After 386 appearances for Manchester United, Phil Neville joined Everton in 2005 and became an equally popular player at Goodison. He had a great six-year career at the club, captaining the Toffees and helped them reach the 2009 FA Cup final.
The former defender retired from football in 2013, having earned 59 England caps. He has now pursued a career in management.
Before taking on his first post with England Women, he served as Nuno Espirito Santo’s assistant coach at Valencia. Neville has subsequently joined Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer and was named manager of the Portland Timbers in November of last year.
Tim Howard (2007, £3m)
Howard, an American goalkeeper who joined Manchester United from the New York Red Bulls, appeared in 77 matches for the club. He began his career on loan at Everton before signing a full-time contract with the club.
Howard became a famous figure at Goodison Park, making over 400 appearances before returning to his hometown with Colorado Rapids. He finally retired with the second-tier American team Memphis 901.
Howard serves as the club’s sporting director and minority owner. He has also appeared as a pundit on several occasions, and he is an international ambassador for his old club Everton.
Louis Saha (2008, undisclosed)
During his time with the Red Devils, Saha won the Premier League twice and had a very good goalscoring record. Nonetheless, his stint with the team was marred by injuries.
After four years, the Frenchman went on to Everton. He suffered further injuries with the Toffees but still scored in the FA Cup final.
After that, he signed with Tottenham, Sunderland, and Lazio. He, like Howard, has appeared frequently on television as a pundit while also pursuing a number of business projects.
Darron Gibson (2012, £500k)
Another player plagued by injuries throughout his career, Gibson made only 60 appearances for Manchester United over seven seasons. He joined the Toffees in 2011 for a little sum.
Injuries once again damaged his time at Everton, leading to further moves to Sunderland, Wigan, and Salford City. Since retirement, Gibson has publicly admitted to a sleeping medication addiction.
Tom Cleverley (2015, free)
Cleverley, another Manchester United academy prodigy who left the club for Everton, had a career similar to Gibson’s. He made just under 80 games with the Red Devils, including loan spells at Leicester, Watford, Wigan, and Aston Villa.
Cleverley made a permanent move to Goodison in 2015, but he only stayed for 18 months before moving on to Watford. He played with the Hornets for six and a half years before retiring in 2023. Cleverley has recently taken on the job of coach for the club’s under-18 team, in addition to some ambassadorial activities.
Morgan Schneiderlin (2017, £20m)
He joined the Red Devils for £25 million in 2015 and was sold at a loss just two seasons later. Schneiderlin previously excelled with Southampton, but he only stayed at Old Trafford for one season.
The Frenchman had a slightly lengthier career with the Toffees, making 88 appearances in three and a half years. He left for Nice and has since played for Western Sydney Wanderers, Konyaspor, and Greek side Kifisia.
Wayne Rooney (2017, £10m)
The England icon joined Manchester United in 2004 after graduating from Everton’s school. He went on to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, winning five Premier League crowns, the Champions League, and numerous other trophies.
When his contract at Old Trafford expired in 2017, he was free to return to his former club. He scored 11 goals in 40 games before moving to DC United and Derby County.
Since retiring, he has held managerial positions with both sides. Rooney recently supervised a terrible spell at Birmingham and was fired after only two wins in 15 games.
Donny van de Beek (2022, loan)
Donny van de Beek was signed amid much fanfare, but he has had a terrible experience at Manchester United. Injuries have limited him to just 62 appearances over four seasons.
The Dutchman has made a couple of loan deals in an attempt to get back on track. One of those included a six-month loan spell at Everton, during which he made only seven appearances and scored one goal. Van van Beek is now with German club Eintracht Frankfurt.
James Garner (2022, £9m)
The most recent direct transfer between the two sides, Garner made just seven appearances for the Red Devils, while he also had loan stints with Watford and Nottingham Forest. In a search for regular football, he moved to Everton in 2022.
Garner made 17 appearances in his debut campaign and is on track to at least double that this term. The midfielder’s current contract on Merseyside runs until the summer of 2026.
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