Manchester United travel to face Aston Villa on Friday night, looking for their first win at Villa Park since David Moyes’ unfortunate reign.
United and Villa have a history in exchanging players, and there will be players involved on Friday who have represented both sides.
Here, we take a look at some of the most recent players to have worn both the red of United and claret and blue of Villa.
Currently in the sides: Ashley Young and Kieran Richardson
Two quite similar players that have seen their careers take contrasting paths, Ashley Young and Kieran Richardson will both be facing their former clubs on Friday for their respective sides.
Richardson signed for United as a youth player in 2002 and he did break into the first team a couple of years later as a left winger, before being sold to Sunderland in 2007. He has mostly stayed in the Premier League since, whilst becoming something of a utility player for Fulham and now Villa.
Young, meanwhile, started out at Watford before earning himself a move to Villa in 2007. He was a key part of Martin O’Neil’s side which pushed for Champions League football, before again taking the step up and joining United. The England international has sometimes been somewhat of a frustrating figure for fans but has proved a hard-working and versatile asset in the squad over the last year.
The Treble winners: Ronny Johnsen, Peter Schmeichel and Dwight Yorke
Three of Manchester United’s starting XI in the 1999 Champions League final, Ronny Johnsen, Peter Schmeichel and Dwight Yorke all also had spells with Aston Villa. Yorke moved directly from Villa Park to Old Trafford the previous year, with his performances for Villa catching the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson. He was then a part of the famous striking foursome also including Andrew Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Schmeichel and Johnsen spent time with Villa after leaving Old Trafford. The Danish keeper was arguably the best goalkeeper in the world whilst at United but left for Sporting Lisbon before joining Villa in 2001.
Johnsen became more of a sporadic figure at United after the treble winning season and joined Villa for first team action in 2002- his penultimate spell in English football.
League winners: Dion Dublin and Tom Cleverley
This duo didn’t leave a lasting legacy in either of the United sides they represented, but both left with a League winner’s medal nevertheless.
Dion Dublin signed for United from Cambridge in 1992 but was quickly hampered by injury, and thereafter struggled to get into the team. He was only a sporadic figure at Old Trafford, but later enjoyed a successful spell at Villa Park, scoring 48 goals in 155 appearances.
Tom Cleverley came through United’s academy and there was a great promise he would develop into a top midfielder. However, after suffering some serious injuries in his maiden season at Old Trafford, he always looked more of a conservative player.
He did enjoy a decent season on loan at Villa last term, though, notably shining under Tim Sherwood’s stewardship, before joining Everton on a permanent basis this summer.
Ones to forget: Eric Djemba-Djemba and Mark Bosnich
So good they named him twice – or perhaps not. Eric Djemba-Djemba is regarded as one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s worst ever signings and played out a mediocre few years for United from 2003-2005, before being sold to Aston Villa. He didn’t impress at Villa Park either, lasting only two years in the Midlands.
Mark Bosnich, meanwhile, did actually play a decent number of games Aston Villa. In seven years, he played 179 times in the league and is therefore perhaps more fondly remembered by the Villa Park crowd than those in the hallowed Stretford End at Old Trafford.
That spell was sandwiched between two short, uninspiring spells with United, where he played just 33 times across four years. He was later described as a ‘terrible professional’ by Sir Alex Ferguson and isn’t remembered as one of the greatest ‘keeper’s to grace the Old Trafford pitch.
