When Donny van de Beek completed his £40million move to Old Trafford from Ajax, Edwin van der Sar took out a full-page advert in the Manchester Evening News with a message for his old club.
‘We understand it’s time for Donny to move on. To dream on,’ declared Van der Sar, a Champions League-winning goalkeeper with Manchester United in 2008 and now Ajax’s chief executive.
‘And where better to do so than in your theatre. Please take good care of our Donny and help him dream.’
Eighteen months on, his words have a hollow ring. Far from keeping Van de Beek’s dream alive, United have turned one of Europe’s most promising midfielders into little more than a curiosity.
Manchester United outcast Donny van de Beek could be set to join Crystal Palace on loan
This is a player who has started the criminally low number of four Premier League games in one and a half seasons, despite being available and willing to help his new club.
As the disillusioned Dutchman holds talks with Crystal Palace over a loan move in the next few days, it raises the question: why did United bother to buy him in the first place?
Remember, Van de Beek, 24, was a member of the much-vaunted Ajax team who reached the 2019 Champions League semi-final — a young man with the world at his feet who was coveted by Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Arsenal.
Van der Sar’s influence made the deal a relatively easy one to complete for United mid-pandemic, although it meant they were unable to finance a move for Jack Grealish, the preferred target for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Van de Beek's United dream looks in ruins just 17 months after he completed a move from Ajax
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer initially failed to find room in his United side for the Dutchman
Solskjaer potentially brought him to Old Trafford in anticipation of Paul Pogba leaving
Did Solskjaer ever really want Van de Beek? Did United sign him in anticipation of Paul Pogba leaving in 2020? If not, where was he going to play?
These are questions we are no nearer to answering.
Not having a defined position has been Van de Beek’s undoing. Bruno Fernandes had the No 10
