At the time, it looked like a chance deal that saw Manchester United as a team in the transfer market, but the reality was quite different.
When Real Madrid failed to find the money to work out a deal with Ajax for Donny van de Beek during the Covid 2020 transfer window, United quickly stepped in to strengthen Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s midfield. It’s a deal that goes smoothly and is in the spotlight and at £35m it looks like a bargain.
Van de Beek has been of interest to United before. In January 2020, he was shortlisted as a potential attacking midfielder signing, but Bruno Fernandes was at the top of that list.
When Covid hit the budget became an issue and in the summer of 2020, United tried to set up deals for Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Jadon Sancho, only to settle for Van de Beek when all are all unattainable. Borussia Dortmund demanded £108m for Sancho, while Villa’s existence in the Premier League on the final day made a move to Grealish more difficult. Maddison has signed a new contract at Leicester as it appears United are looking elsewhere.
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There seems to be a lot to like about Van de Beek’s move. At £35m, he’s significantly cheaper than the other three targets and at 23, he’s the right age for United’s bid. He is also a recent Champions League semi-finalist.
An oncoming goal from the bench on his debut – albeit in a home defeat to Crystal Palace – added to the promise, but it didn’t take long for the alarms to sound. . Solskjaer did not know where to use Van de Beek and the coaches quickly realized he was not fit for the Premier League. It shows the danger of redirecting within a window.
When the transfer was announced on September 2, 2020, Solskjaer said Van de Beek had «all the technical qualities needed to play in this team». Now that quote feels worth mentioning. Premier League matches often go too quickly for the Dutchman, especially Solskjaer’s United. A midfielder with a habit of controlling the ball now plays for a team that almost always attacks quickly and directly. He was out of sync with his teammates.
It’s been almost three years since Van de Beek signed for United and has only made six Premier League starts, averaging two games a season. In all competitions, the 26-year-old has made 60 appearances for the club, 23 of which started, but he feels like an afterthought ahead of his latest season.
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A serious knee injury devastated the second half of last season, but even before that, there was little sign that a reunion with Erik ten Hag would change the course of Van de Beek’s career at the Old. Trafford. He did not make much of an impact during his loan spell at Everton and although Ten Hag gave him chances, including three consecutive starts in November, it never worked out.
The idea that Van de Beek would be one step ahead of his teammates after Ten Hag’s appointment was quickly debunked during pre-season. In a live interview with the British press in Australia last summer, Ten Hag made it clear that saving his United career was in the player’s hands.
«Every player is the same, he has to do it himself,» he said. «I as a manager and the coaching staff around him can do everything to create the right conditions for him to play but ultimately the player has to do it himself. .
«They have to take responsibility for their performance. Donny has the ability. I’ve seen that but he has to prove himself.»
He hasn’t had the whole season to prove himself, but Van de Beek seems to have no role in this team. Ten Hag said last season his best position was as a striker, but now he has competition from Fernandes, Christian Eriksen and Mason Mount for that position.
Even if Fred was likely to be sold, Van de Beek could certainly follow. He was on the periphery again last season and this opportunistic transfer has turned into a nightmare for both player and club. He’s still young enough to make an impact somewhere and on the continent his shares will remain relatively high, but it seems clear Van de Beek’s efforts to feature in the Premier League will ends this summer.
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