Ineos engineered a mass clearout this summer which, in many fans’ opinion, was long overdue due to a bloated wage structure not reflecting in results.
Manchester United raised more than £100 million from sales in the summer, even selling some players for a huge loss with future clauses.
Most of the players United sold were non-performing or distressed assets whose careers had tanked at Old Trafford and needed a change in surroundings.
The chances of them succeeding elsewhere were thought to be slim, as many players, like Raphael Varane or Anthony Martial, haven’t had the best of times since their summer departure.
One of those who found himself in a similar boat at United has now turned his career around.
A comeback story in Champions League
After the first six league games, Manchester United, who have won only two of those six, already sit six points behind fourth place.
They’ve scored just five times in those six games and look like huge outsiders to make the Champions League next season as it stands, to put it politely.
Meanwhile, a player who was rotting away on the bench almost throughout his tenure at the club is now starring for a club in the Champions League.
Not many tears were shed at his departure. In fact, there was a sigh of relief from the fanbase when the cord was finally cut after multiple seasons of dragging and dithering.
Donny van de Beek ultimately went to Girona for a nominal fee and like the club, was expected to fade back into the lower positions on the table.
Girona haven’t managed to replicate their league form of last season, but Van de Beek is finally enjoying his football after nearly four years in purgatory.
The midfielder spoke to the press on the eve of their second Champions League game, having started their first UCL game of the season, a 1-0 loss away at Paris Saint-Germain.
He said the United spell was so tough on him he was “about to give up” but he’s “getting fit” and “feeling good for a few weeks now” at his new surrounding.
He said: “I don’t like to talk about the past. I’ve been getting fit and feeling good for a few weeks now. Now I feel in a good moment. I love playing against Feyenoord.
“I have had many hard knocks in my career. Now I feel like I’m starting a new stage at a fantastic club. We play very well and it’s a big challenge for me. I want to keep improving. There have been moments when I was about to give up everything, but the family helped me to continue believing in myself. They have convinced me that I have to do what I like and that fills me up, which is to play football.”
Donny van de Beek needed a clean break
Just because Van de Beek is enjoying his football now and becoming a regular starter for Girona doesn’t mean United were in the wrong to sell him.
His career was fading into obscurity and this renaissance would never have come had he stayed at Old Trafford so the theory that United could have benefitted from this is a moot one.
The Dutchman has already made five appearances this season for the Spanish side. For context, these five appearances have totalled 175 minutes while he played 315 minutes for United in two whole seasons – 2023/24 and 2022/23.
His loan spell at Frankfurt in Bundesliga was the final nail in the coffin but in Spain’s technical possession-style football, he seems to have found a home.
Ultimately, he was just another example of an ill-advised move made without any tactical plan or thinking, or even taking into account the manager’s thoughts as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer never fancied him, then Ten Hag couldn’t revive him.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
