Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: David Moyes, Manchester United, Premier League
Josh Lawless
David Moyes made four signings during his short stint in charge of Manchester United, including Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata.
He was also at the helm when a deal was completed for Uruguayan defender Guillermo Varela, who became Moyes' first signing at Old Trafford.
Mata joined in the middle of the campaign following three summer additions, which included Swiss-born right-back Saidy Janko.
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Moyes was excited by the arrival of Janko when the deal was done on deadline day alongside Fellaini, describing him as "very powerful" and built like a "rugby league player".
Janko slotted into the reserves set up and was the recipient of the Denzil Haroun Young Player of the Year award.
He did not feature in the first-team for Moyes and would go on to make his debut under Louis van Gaal, playing the first half of an infamous 4-0 League Cup loss to MK Dons.
That was to be Janko's only appearance for United as after a loan spell to Bolton which saw Andy Kellett head in the opposite direction in a surprise move, he signed for Celtic.
Janko won two Scottish league titles and had a stint on loan at Barnsley, before joining French outfit Saint-Etienne and later Portuguese giants Porto, though he never made a first-team appearance.
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After loans with Nottingham Forest and Young Boys, he added two other clubs to his resume with Spanish side Real Valladolid and VFL Bochum, who he joined temporarily.
Then, in 2023, Janko signed permanently with Young Boys back in his native Switzerland and has played 37 times - including twice in the Champions League against Manchester City.
Janko suffered with a muscle injury that kept him on the sidelines for an extended period before he returned to the pitch last month with a 25-minute cameo against Servette.
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He switched international allegiance to Gambia in 2021, making 10 appearances at senior level.
Though things didn't work out at United, Janko remains grateful for the opportunity he had at United and had praise for Moyes and how he dealt with the youngsters at the time.
"It was a phenomenal move for me at the age of seventeen years old but also a little overwhelming because I joined one of the biggest clubs in world football," Janko told World Football Index.
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“I learned so much from my time training with the first team at Manchester United and I was also able to play for the first team in the League Cup under Louis Van Gaal too which was a proud moment.”
I will also always be grateful to Louis van Gaal for giving me my first team debut at Manchester United but he did not talk to the youngsters like myself in any great degree of depth.
“On the other hand, I have to say that David Moyes was great with me – and the younger players – when I joined the club even though he was under a lot of pressure during his time in charge.
“He always had time for young players and he wanted me to join the first team in pre-season in 2014 but unfortunately, he lost his job before that opportunity could come around for me.