Donny van de Beek to Manchester United was, in some ways, a sensible transfer. The £35m fee was a fair price without being exorbitant. A strong relationship with Ajax meant that negotiations were concluded relatively quickly. Even the official announcement of the transfer earned some of the most engagement of any tweet from United’s official account last season, more than that of Edinson Cavani’s arrival the same summer.
There was just one problem: where exactly was Van de Beek going to play? Was he a No 10? United already had the indispensable Bruno Fernandes in that position. In which case, could he be an eight? Perhaps, but United did not play with eights. Then he could be a six, breaking up Fred and Scott McTominay’s much-maligned holding midfield partnership? Maybe, but his best performances at Ajax had come further up the pitch.
In the end, there was no need to worry. The question of where Van de Beek would play had a simple answer: he wouldn’t.
The first and perhaps final chapter of Van de Beek’s Old Trafford career has ended with a loan move to Everton, after 50 appearances. If that does not sound too bad a little under 18 months after his arrival, consider that those run outs have each lasted an average of 37 minutes. United congratulated Van de Beek on reaching his half-century of games on social media earlier this month. That tweet earned a lot of engagement too.
It has, quite simply, been one of the stranger spells of any United signing during the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. A player with a growing reputation in European football, who had impressed in a run to Champions League semi-finals, was bought for a considerable fee and to considerable fanfare but spent his time on the sidelines waiting for a long, consistent run in the team that would never arrive.
What’s striking was not simply the quantity of opportunities that Van de Beek has been given but their quality too. Only 19 of his 50 appearances came as starts, with the vast majority of those in domestic cup ties or dead rubbers. The last time that Van de Beek played a meaningful league game from the kick-off was more than a year ago, away to West Ham in December 2020. Even then, he was substituted at half-time.
There was another half-time substitution in his last meaningful Champions League start in fact, away to Young Boys in September, and it has often been the case that even if Van de Beek does not start on the bench, he finds his way there eventually. He has completed 90 minutes on just nine occasions for United, starting in something resembling a full strength line-up in only two of those games.
It’s not just the lack of minutes, but the lack of any defined role. While versatility was touted as one of Van de Beek’s gifts on his arrival, it has sometimes felt more like a curse. In his last eight starts, he has alternated between those three aforementioned positions – the No 10, eight and six – rarely playing in the same one twice in a row, with long gaps between games anyway.
It is true, at the same time, that two separate United managers with different ideas have now looked at Van de Beek and seen little more than a squad player. When he has played, his influence on games has been minimal and his highlight reel short. While some at Carrington and close to the club believe Van de Beek has deserved more minutes, there have also been concerns about his physical and tactical suitability to the Premier League.
But can a player really fail if they are never really tried? Van de Beek’s United career is on hiatus after just 1,836 minutes across the last two campaigns. Five players at United have played more minutes this season alone. His rival in his preferred position, Fernandes, played more than 4,500 last term. It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to judge Van de Beek by the same standards when he has spent a fraction of the time on the pitch.
All of these factors fed into his eagerness to earn more regular playing time away from Old Trafford during the January window. The 24-year-old cut loose of his former representatives late last year and employed the services of the agency that represents Victor Lindelof and international team-mate Frenkie De Jong in an attempt to accelerate his departure, knowing a loan move was most likely.
It is ironic that this opportunity to rebuild his career is the same one that was on the table a few months ago. Everton were keen on Van de Beek late last summer, though he was persuaded to stay put and be patient, with Solskjaer confident that he would be able to find him a more prominent, regular role. But that role had never really existed in United’s squad for Van de Beek. That had always been the issue, no matter how easy or convenient the deal may have been to do.
Van de Beek has his move now, at least. Goodison Park is a different place compared to last summer, under the management of Frank Lampard rather than Rafael Benitez and without the presence of Van de Beek’s greatest admirer from then, former director of football Marcel Brands. But still, it represents an opportunity to play regularly again. It could be described as a second chance at a successful Premier League career, though Van de Beek might wonder whether he ever really got his first.
