A lot can change in four years. Just ask Donny van de Beek after he sealed his long overdue exit from Manchester United.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was still the manager. A front three of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood was threatening to become the best in all of Europe.
Juan Mata, Eric Bailly, Marcos Rojo, Odion Ighalo and Timothy Fosu-Mensah were all under contract.
And Donny van de Beek, a £34 million signing from Erik ten Hag’s Ajax side, appeared on his way to ascending to the summit of European football after becoming that summer’s biggest signing at Manchester United.
Four years on, Van de Beek’s reputation has diminished as much as his price-tag.
If you had said back in 2020, when Man United paid top dollar to take the Dutchman to Old Trafford, that he would be joining Girona for an initial £500,000 just four years later, you’d be forgiven for responding like John W Henry did when Arsenal made that infamous bid for Luis Suarez.
Girona, after all, finished fifth in Spain’s second tier in the same year Van de Beek swapped Amsterdam for Manchester.
His move to Catalonia, then, speaks not only to Van de Beek’s remarkable fall from grace but also Girona’s impressive rise.
- READ MORE: Manchester United confirmed signings, transfers in, out, loan exits, releases for 2024/25
Donny van de Beek finally leaves Manchester United
Like fellow newcomers Bologna, Aston Villa and Brest, Girona will be playing Champions League football for the very first time in 2024/25. The challenge will now fall on Michel – the highly-rated manager with admirers at Old Trafford – to kick-start the once promising career of a midfielder who ‘completely flopped’ during a disastrous loan spell at Eintracht Frankfurt in the second half of last term.
The 2022 Europa League winners declined the option to trigger the £13 million purchase clause in his contract.
Van de Beek arrives in Spain very much as a ‘project’ sort of signing. A renovation job, if you will.
Despite a miserable few years, however, there is considerable excitement greeting the arrival of a man who still must rank as the most high-profile Girona signing in years outside of maybe ex-United defender Daley Blind.
“(Van de Beek) is a very talented midfielder who stands out for his vision, ability to score goals and his skill in creating goal-scoring opportunities for his team-mates,” reads a statement on Girona’s official website confirming the Dutchman’s arrival on a four-year deal.
“He is also a versatile player who can adapt to different positions.”
Dutchman hoping to kick start his career in La Liga
At his best, Van de Beek can be an excellent source of goals from his advanced midfield spot. Breaking into the penalty area like prime Paul Scholes at Ajax, he reached double figures in three successive campaigns and ended 2017/18 with 17 to his name.
Only three goals have been scored in his 77 appearances since leaving the Johan Cryuff Arena, however.
Girona have excelled in the recent past when signing down-on-their-luck players in need of a fresh start – see ex-Tottenham goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga and the aforementioned Blind, playing like ‘Prime Maldini’ at the Estadi Montilivi – and the hope will be that Van de Beek can thrive amid the highly positive atmosphere of one of the best-run clubs in European football.
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