Manchester United have squandered millions in the transfer market since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson as they have jumped from one panic buy to another.
It has resulted in the squad becoming a jumbled mess of players bought for different managers instead of under an aligned vision of the whole club.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe aims to change that which is why an accomplished team to work with, and around the manager has been hired.
However, despite the failures in buying suitable players, arguably as big a worry, probably a bigger one, is their failure at selling well.
United’s propensity of handing out exorbitant contracts or not striking when the iron is hot has led their net spend to soar as they can barely ever get any return on their investment by selling.
While that does need to change in the long term, for now, they are still saddled with the legacy of the incompetence of the previous regime, seen in one player in particular.
Man United negotiating permanent exit of outcast
Manchester Evening News reports that the club is working on a permanent transfer of Donny van de Beek, who will return from his loan spell at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Van de Beek had an unsuccessful time at the German club, mirroring his fate at Everton where he couldn’t impress and earn a permanent move either.
Frankfurt had a buy option to make the move permanent but he played just 357 minutes of football there, failing to register a goal or assist.
He was left out of the European squad altogether and the chances of the move being made permanent were always going to be extremely slim.
The Dutchman will return to pre-season training on July 8 with a view to keeping fit but both parties agree that his future lies elsewhere.
His contract expires next year and he will be free to negotiate with teams from January 1st, 2025. Therefore, this is the last summer when United can hope to get a fee.
If no suitors are found, the club might even better off just letting him leave for a nominal fee to get his wages off the books, presumably in the £100,000/week range.
Huge fall from grace
United had bought a Van de Beek who had just made the Ballon d’Or rankings after a sterling run with Ajax under the leadership of Erik ten Hag.
Real Madrid were interested in his services then and it was seen as a huge coup when United managed to snap him up for just £35 million.
Unfortunately, a debut goal off the bench was as good as it got for him in a United shirt as his playing style never suited the team or the Premier League.
Fans were perplexed when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer didn’t give him many opportunities but all mitigating factors were removed when Ten Hag came in.
The hope was that the appointment of a manager who unlocked his best version would be the start of a new era for Van de Beek at Old Trafford. Instead, Ten Hag came in and followed the template of managers before him.
The player looked off the pace every time he took to the pitch and as soon as the euphoria of the reunion with Ten Hag faded, his minutes began to dwindle again.
Injury worries deal the final nail in the coffin for the player and that was the end of any hope that he could make it at United. However, he is still only 27 so prioritising first-team minutes over anything else should be the aim for him.
If both parties work together to find a solution, there could be an ideal scenario where the player starts playing regular football again while United get more wages off their books.
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