Where last Man Utd XI humiliated in League Cup second round are now after 11 year gap

Some 11 years have passed since Manchester United last played a League Cup second round match, and Ruben Amorim will be hoping to avoid a repeat of what happened that night. Louis van Gaal was in charge when United faced MK Dons in August 2014, and a young Dele Alli impressed as the lower-league side ran out 4-0 winners.

Tonight, Grimsby Town are United's opponents. Amorim has overseen just one match in the competition before - a 4-3 quarter-final defeat against Spurs last season - but the Mariners ought not to worry United's boss despite their unbeaten start in League Two.

“Of course I’m disappointed, but I can analyse this,” Van Gaal said after that defeat in Milton Keynes all those years ago. “I am not shocked because I know what can happen, and I think also that Milton Keynes played very well, very aggressively, and they had also a little bit of luck.”

United's start to the season that year was eerily similar to this year's. They began with a narrow defeat and a 1-1 draw in their first two league games, and took on Burnley on the weekend after their cup exit - the same opponents due to visit Old Trafford this weekend.

One member of the squad in Milton Keynes went on to play their part in helping United bounce back and finish fourth in the league, but others have had a nomadic existence since. Here's what the players from that fateful day are up to now.

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David de Gea

De Gea was the only United player who featured in the previous league game and kept his place for the trip south. He didn't let the pain of defeat get to him, either, remaining at Old Trafford until 2023.

The Spanish international left Old Trafford with 415 Premier League appearances to his name, as well as FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League winners' medals. After a year out of the game, he joined Fiorentina in 2024 and helped them reach the Conference League semis last season.

Marnick Vermijl

Belgian full-back Vermijl was playing just his second game for United that night, and it would end up being his last. He left for Sheffield Wednesday in the winter transfer window, and would also earn minutes in the EFL with Preston and Scunthorpe.

After a spell in the Dutch second tier with MVV Maastricht, he returned to Belgium in 2020. He spent the last five years with lower-league side Thes, and joined fourth-tier Bocholt over the summer.

Jonny Evans

The MK Dons match was the beginning of the end for Evans at United... or so we thought. He left for West Brom the following summer before spending five years at Leicester - leaving when the Foxes were relegated in 2023.

Surprisingly, he then returned to Old Trafford for the twilight of his career. He retired in the summer after two more years back at his boyhood club and has now taken on a youth development role with United.

Michael Keane

Keane had made his Premier League debut for United just days before the MK Dons game, but wouldn't end up adding to it. He joined Burnley on loan a week later, and that would lead to a permanent move to Turf Moor.

After a fruitful three years with the Clarets, he joined Everton for £25m in the summer of 2017. The centre-back's time on Merseyside has had his ups and downs but he remains part of David Moyes' squad, and scored his one and only senior England goal while on Everton's books.

Reece James

No, not that one. This Reece James is a left-back, not a right-back, and joined United's academy from Preston in 2012 before making his one and only first team appearance for the club in Milton Keynes.

Now 31, James has spent the last 11 years between the Championship and League One. He's now on the books of Rotherham, more than a decade on from joining them on loan from United a few months after his debut.

Saidy Janko

Swiss Under-21 international Janko is another who played just once for United's first team. He spent a few months on loan at Bolton in the second half of the 2014-15 season before leaving permanently to join Celtic.

The last 11 years have seen him play club football in Scotland, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Switzerland - as well as a brief spell back in England with Nottingham Forest. He has also switched his international allegiances, playing for Gambia at two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Anderson

A fair amount of time had passed between Anderson signing for United and the Brazilian featuring in this match. Injuries had held back his career, and he would play just one more time for the club before returning to his home country with Internacional.

In September 2020, the midfielder announced his retirement after stints in Brazil and Turkey. His final senior appearance had come more than a year earlier, for Adana Demirspor in the Turkish second tier.

Shinji Kagawa

After starring under Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, Kagawa showed some real quality at times in his first United season. He couldn't repeat the trick after Sir Alex Ferguson left the club, though, and returned to Dortmund days after the MK Dons defeat.

Spells in Turkey, Spain, Greece and Belgium followed, before the playmaker returned to his first club Cerezo Osaka. Now 36 years of age, he has continued to get minutes for the club - who currently sit in mid-table in the J1 League.

Nick Powell

Powell announced himself at United with a debut goal, having been a teenage hit with Crewe, but is another who couldn't get things going after Ferguson walked away. David Moyes had sent him out on loan to Wigan, where he got more regular minutes in the Championship, but Van Gaal's arrival offered him a fresh chance at Old Trafford.

Instead, his introduction in a 2015 Champions League game became emblematic of the struggles in the Van Gaal era for some United fans. Powell established himself as a solid Championship player in the years that followed, and is now in the third tier with Bradford, making his debut for the Bantams against Stoke on Tuesday.

Danny Welbeck

Welbeck is another to leave United in the aftermath of the Dons defeat, but this was a move some fans were less happy about. The homegrown talent completed a surprise deadline day move to Arsenal, and won two FA Cups during an injury-hit five years with the Gunners.

At the age of 34, Welbeck has hit the best scoring form of his career. He's now at Brighton - via a year at Watford - and hit 10 goals in a Premier League season for the first time last term.

Javier Hernandez

Welbeck's partner up front in Milton Keynes was another who would soon be on his way. Hernandez joined Real Madrid on a season-long loan in September 2014, and would exit permanently the following summer.

After spells with Leverkusen, West Ham and Sevilla, the Mexican international called time on his European career in 2020. Three years in MLS with LA Galaxy brought goals galore, and he's now back in Guadalajara - where he began his career nearly 20 years ago.

Andreas Pereira

Pereira, at the time just 18 years old, made his debut when he replaced Janko that night. The Brazilian would add one Premier League outing later that season, but his time at United was filled with loan moves away.

He would end up playing 75 times for the first team, most of those appearances coming under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. A successful Flamengo loan breathed new life into his career, though, and he has been a Premier League semi-regular with Fulham since joining the London side from United in 2022.

Adnan Januzaj

One of the few bright sparks of the David Moyes season, Januzaj never replicated that form under his successors. The Belgian played just 28 times under Van Gaal, while Jose Mourinho sent him on loan to Sunderland before sanctioning a permanent exit to Real Sociedad in 2017.

Things went better for him in San Sebastian, though a spell at Sevilla has been largely spent on the fringes He's now back at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan after a year on loan at Las Palmas, though, and featured from the bench in the first game of the new season.

James Wilson

Wilson was highly rated by United's academy chiefs and scored twice on his Premier League debut in 2014. He got minutes under Van Gaal but not under Jose Mourinho, eventually leaving Old Trafford in 2019 after a series of loans.

After a spell north of the border with Aberdeen, he spent the last five years in the lower leagues - most recently with Northampton. Wilson is currently a free agent, having left Sixfields in the summer.

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