If the Black Eye Peas and Manchester United had one thing in common, it would be that they both went downhill since Fergie left. While one went on to release the Dutchess album that included undeniable tunes like Glamorous and London Bridge the other did slightly better for himself.

Sir Alex Ferguson called it a day on his famous managerial career in 2013 after spending almost 27 years of that career at Manchester United. During this time, he won it all Premier League titles, Champions Leagues, Fa Cups, League Cups, a European Cup Winners Cup, a European Super Cup, a FIFA Club World Cup and the hearts of every Manchester United fan worldwide. He is one of if not the greatest managers to ever grace the game.

His impact at Manchester United will never be forgotten and since his retirement he has had a stand in Old Trafford named after him with a statue of him above the entrance of said stand. Its been seven years since his departure and the club have yet to fully replace him in the hot seat with David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho all been shown the door since then. Former United star Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is now trying his hand at the job and only time will tell if he is fully successful in filling the massive shoes left by Ferguson.

While the glory days are gone for now in the red side of Manchester its not being all doom and gloom. The club won a FA Cup under Van Gaal and a League Cup and Europa League under Mourinho. The club has also signed some great players in this time.

Of course, like every club some duds have put on the shirt like Di Maria, Falcao, Sanchez and Paul Pogba and an argument will not even be had about that last one. There have been plenty others in the seven years who came in and underwhelmed. But that even happened under the great Sir Alex Ferguson during his tenor. He signed players like Bebe, Gabriel Obertan, David Bellion, Eric Djemba Djemba, Jordi Cruyff and Kleberson all just some examples on when even Ferguson missed the mark in terms of signings.

However, let us look at the positive signs and signings of the post Ferguson era at Manchester United with looking at the best signings that have come through the door in those seven years.

Honourable Mentions – Marouane Fellaini, Luke Shaw, Daley Blind, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Romelu Lukaku, Fred and Anthony Martial. All the lads above just miss out for one reason or another be that injuries, patchy spells, or lack of game time. New boys Aaron Wan Bissaka and Bruno Fernandes also just miss out with Fernandes possibly topping this list down the line.

Harry Maguire

Honestly, Anthony Martial was in this spot until the last minute. As good as his ability is and, on his day, he is very dangerous he has plenty of bad patches and really has not improved during his almost five years at the club.

However, Maguire takes the first spot on our list despite only arriving in the summer transfer window in 2019. He came in for a silly amount of money for a player of his ability with a £80 million fee. This made Maguire the worlds most expensive defender and immediately put serious pressure on him to perform.

He got off to a perfect start in a 4-0 win against Chelsea on the opening game of the season helping keep a clean sheet and was named Man of the Match. The good start continued with Maguire looking like a solid present at the back since joining the club. United were crying out for a good centre half and that’s exactly what Maguire is. A sort of player you can just see will be successful at the club with a length spell ahead of him especially with him just been made club captain.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan graced Manchester with his presents when he arrived in the summer of 2016. Despite been in the elder stages of his career at 34 and many saying he is past is he took his class with him on his short but sweet spell at United.

The big Swedish icon scored 17 goals in his first and only full season in the Premier League and 29 goals in all competitions during his time at the club. He also won a Europa League and League Cup winners medal to add to his vast collection making his time at United a success.

Sergio Romero

This might be a strange one for some as Romero has spent most of his time at the club on the bench playing back up to David De Gea since he arrived as a free transfer in 2015. During this time, he has proven himself to be arguably one of the best second choice keepers in the game today. Many Manchester United fans even believe Romero should be given more first team opportunities due to his consistent performances whenever he is called upon. He has also been very vocal on how he accepts this role and is happy to be an understudy and perform when needs be.

Most of his chances have come in cup competitions with him only making seven Premier League appearances out of his total 58 appearances. It is no coincidence that United have had relative cup success with Romero between the sticks winning a FA Cup, Europa League and League Cup for his hard work. He is still as reliable as ever for the club whenever he is needed and even recently signed a contract extension until 2021 showing he still wants to be at the club.

Ander Herrera

A player that was linked to the club over the span of several transfer windows finally arrived to Manchester United in 2014 after a couple of failed bids. Herrera activated his buyout clause at Athletic Bilbao and made the £32 million move that summer.

He initially struggled to really stamp his mark in the starting 11 on a regular basis but still impressed neither less. Over time he became a fan favourite with his honest work rate and ability on the ball. It came to a stage were himself and David De Gea were the only two shining lights at the club even winning the clubs Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award in 2017. Probably the most telling thing of all was when it was announced that Herrera would be leaving the club after the 2019 season. Fans were very vocal on their disappointment of this decision given Herrera openness on been happy at the club and considering some of the players that stayed. He now plays for PSG and would surly get a loving reception by the Old Trafford faithful if he even returned in any capacity.

During his time at the club he won a FA Cup, Europa League and League Cup like others on this list. He made 189 appearances in all competitions scoring 20 times and having 27 assists to his name.

Juan Mata

One of the first big signings to be made in the post Ferguson era at Manchester United. Fergusons successor David Moyes brought him in from Chelsea during the January transfer market in 2014 for around £40 million.

He came in full of confidence and in great form as the season before he joined, he was named Chelsea Player of the Season. He hit the ground running as expected with an assist in his debut and his first goal coming about two months into his career. He quickly became a regular starter and fan favourite due to his creativity, passing ability and eye for goal.

He has been at the club now for over six years and bar a few injuries he has always been a regular fixture in the team. Like most on the list he was apart of the squads that won an FA Cup in 2016, Europa League in 2017 and League Cup in 2017.

He is one appearance shy of making 250 in all competitions and is the highest scoring midfielder at the club in the last decade with 48 goals. He is still contracted to the club until 2021 and at 31 he still has a few years left in the tank and plenty of experience to pass on to the younger lads in the squad. His most famous day at the club would be when he scored a double against Liverpool in Anfield in 2015. For United fans that is enough evidence for him being known as the best signing post Fergie.