Noam Emeran admits former Manchester United team-mate Donny van de Beek advised him on a move to the Eredivisie before putting pen to paper with FC Groningen.
The former France youth star is not the first Manchester United starlet to pack his bags and head for the Netherlands this summer. And, despite a dazzling pre-season cameo against Leeds United in Oslo, news of Noam Emeran’s departure has not been greeted with quite so much controversy as the deal which took Zidane Iqbal to FC Utrecht earlier in the summer.
20-year-old Emeran joins Groningen on a four-year deal until the summer of 2027.
United, at least, have had the good sense to include a sell-on clause in Emeran’s contract (Manchester Evening News). As such, if the stylish winger can regularly produce the sort of performance that had Leeds’ backline running scared in mid-July, the Red Devils could be set for a rather sizeable windfall somewhere down the line.
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Noam Emeran leaves Manchester United for Groningen
“FC Groningen has a good plan for me,” Emeran explains. “And the conversations showed that the club knew me well as a player. This is the best choice for me to develop both on and off the field.
“My goals are of course to play a lot, score goals, provide assists and, in short, become a better version of myself.”
After finishing bottom of the Eredivisie table in 2022/23, Groningen are looking to bounce back at the first time of asking with an immediate return to the top-flight.
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Chat with Van de Beek
Emeran, meanwhile, spoke to Manchester United’s Netherlands international Donny van de Beek, the former Ajax ace having come up against Groningen on plenty of occasions during his time in Amsterdam.
“I regularly participated in the first team of Manchester United in the pre-season. Team-mate Donny van de Beek told me that FC Groningen is a good club, with a lot of support,” Emeran adds.
“I have seen a video of the supporters during the previous home game. They really want to fight for their club, and I want to fight for the supporters.”