Manchester United finally decided to cut ties with Donny van de Beek in the summer after four forgettable years with the midfielder joining Girona in Spain.
The 27-year-old joined for an initial €500k due to his lack of involvement with the first team at Old Trafford. United do have the chance to recoup a decent fee of up to €15 million should the Dutchman do well in La Liga.
A lot was expected when the Red Devils spent €39 million for his services back in 2020 after the player was a standout star in an exciting Ajax side then coached by Erik ten Hag.
However, with Bruno Fernandes already at the club, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could not figure out the best way to utilise the Netherlands international who made only 17 starts under the Norwegian in two seasons.
Donny’s nightmare United spell
With Ten Hag coming in as permanent manager, Van de Beek’s fortunes were expected to change under a manager who trusted him back in Amsterdam.
However, nothing much changed and in the end, the versatile midfielder ended up making only four starts under the Dutch manager before the decision to cut him loose in the summer.
Donny van de Beek bij Girona op keerpunt in carrière
“De goede dingen van Manchester United neem ik mee de toekomst in.”
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) September 12, 2024
Now at Girona, the former Ajax star is yet to start a game for the Spanish team but has spoken to ESPN about about why he decided to make the move to the Champions League outfit.
“It’s an important moment in my career. It’s a nice club with good football, which I think I can help and I’ll work very hard. The most important thing is to enjoy it as well, from there on the success will come.”
Most players would be slightly resentful towards a club which did not hand him the opportunities the player felt he deserved to get.
But not Van de Beek. “It’s clear that it didn’t work out for both sides, but that’s the past. I don’t have anything bad to say about the club.
No hard feelings
“I didn’t play a lot of minutes but I learnt a lot, with great players around and good people at the club. There are good things I’ll take with me for the future.”
The midfielder’s attitude was always spot-on but he never quite managed to show his worth in Manchester and not many managers would drop Fernandes for the Dutchman.
His versatility also did not help at times as while the player was able to fulfill multiple roles, he was not quite up to the mark required in those positions.
Hopefully, he can kickstart his flagging career in Spain and try and reach the heights he was once expected to scale following his heroics for Ajax back in the day.
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