After making 10 appearances in a half of a breakthrough season under Louis van Gaal, it seemed like the world was at Timothy Fosu-Mensah’s feet.
It didn’t work out as planned and the Dutchman featured in only a further 20 games for United over the next four-and-a-half years.
Both club and player decided this week that now is the right time to move on. Fosu-Mensah needs regular playing time and he has a better chance of getting that at Bayer Leverkusen.
Fosu-Mensah posted a message of thanks to United, who have supported him over the past five years.
The Dutchman has just turned 23 and needs to be playing on a weekly basis in order to improve.
United helped him a lot over the past year. He was recovering from a torn ACL suffered during a loan spell at Fulham and went on to feature for the first team when it seemed hope was lost.
He added brief appearances in a FA Cup semi-final and the Champions League to his CV, also starting three Premier League games. It was a comeback nobody expected, but United did not see enough to grant him regular playing time.
Leverkusen is a good move for him. They have former Ajax boss Peter Bosz in charge and they have an open slot at right-back due to injury problems.
Currently Bayer sit third in the Bundesliga and have a good chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Unlike his loan stints at relegation battlers Palace and Fulham, Fosu-Mensah is playing for a top team and has a chance to really show what he can do on his new adventure.
It will be interesting to see how he develops and whether he can go onto become the player many touted him to be capable of becoming.
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