The next Cristiano Ronaldo? Manchester United and Wilfried Zaha left to reflect on what could have been

The one that got away will be back at Old Trafford next week as Wilfried Zaha returns to the scene of what he describes as a “living hell”.

The Crystal Palace winger was Sir Alex Ferguson’s final signing as Manchester United manager – one of a host of rising stars the Scot believed would leave the club in good health long after his retirement.

United should be reaping the benefit of Zaha now. Instead, he will be Jose Mourinho’s primary concern as Crystal Palace head to Old Trafford on Saturday, returning as one of the most devastating forwards in the Premier League.

Along with Nick Powell and Adnan Januzaj, Zaha was among a trio of starlets Ferguson left as parting gifts. All three became victims of the turbulent five years that have passed since his departure – part of a chaotic churn of players and managers at Old Trafford.

Zaha - who is expected to recover from a hamstring injury in time for the clash with his former club - stands out as a criminal waste of talent as far as United are concerned, but questions hang over the treatment of all three, chief among them being whether they would have realised their potential under Ferguson.

That Zaha was the Scot’s final signing comes as no surprise.

A flying winger, able to score, create and leave defenders with twisted blood, he was likened to Cristiano Ronaldo when first emerging at Selhurst Park. While that was an unhelpful tag to burden any aspiring player, he has gone on to justify Ferguson’s faith in him since returning to Palace.

The 26-year-old endured a miserable time at Old Trafford, making just two first team starts in little over 18 months under first David Moyes and then Louis van Gaal.

It’s easy to dismiss Zaha as being unable to cope with the pressure of such a big move so early in his career, but his account of being left to his own devices and suffering feelings of depression suggest he was a player in need of love at a time when Moyes was dealing with a crisis of his own.

It was Van Gaal who ultimately showed him the door as part of the Dutchman’s ruthless cull at Old Trafford.

During the calmer times of Ferguson’s reign, Zaha may well have been given room to develop and establish himself within a settled team.

Whether he would have been the next Ronaldo is another matter entirely, but it’s not beyond the realms of belief to imagine him filling the problem position on the right of Mourinho’s attack now.

Where Zaha faltered, Januzaj initially flourished under Moyes, prompting United to hand him a five-year contract and England to try to convince him to commit his international allegiances to the Three Lions above Belgium.

Januzaj was brightest spark of Moyes’ disastrous reign but came down to earth almost as spectacularly as he rose, failing to maintain his rise once Van Gaal took charge.

Evidence of United’s own misgivings about letting him follow Zaha out of the door came with the club’s insistence on inserting a buyback clause in his contract when selling him to Real Sociedad. There was no such stipulation when Zaha returned to Palace.

Januzaj’s reflections on his time at United have a familiar ring.

“I didn’t really get a chance because at the time he (Mourinho) probably wanted more experienced players with names,” he said this week.

They mirrored Zaha’s own thoughts.

“Obviously, getting to United isn’t easy, so not being given a chance is hard to take,” he has said of his time at the club.

Powell’s case is a different one – but recent links with a move to RB Leipzig are an endorsement of the natural ability that had Ferguson earmark him as a long-term successor to Paul Scholes.

He had one year under Ferguson after being signed from Crewe, with the famed coach of United’s Class of 92, Eric Harrison, believing the midfielder had the talent to rival Jack Wilshere.

Powell described himself as a “dumb little kid” who “who just did as I wanted.”

That may explain why the 24-year-old sunk to the depths of League One with Wigan after failing to make it at Old Trafford, while Zaha and Januzaj continued to play top flight football.

Powell is still in the process of rebuilding his career, though thoughts of him returning to the heights of a club like United have rarely been mooted since his departure two years ago.

Interest from Leipzig, in particular, and Celtic offer a road to redemption for a player who is still young enough to fully realise his potential.

Should he do that, he will be another to place in the category of ones that got away.

There have, of course, been the successes since Ferguson’s exit - Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard the outstanding examples.

But, at the very least, Zaha should be alongside them in Mourinho’s squad now – a point he is perfectly capable of emphasising when he returns to Old Trafford next week.