For some, the burden of a huge price tag spurs them on, while others wither and crumble under the pressure of their own cost.
Donny van de Beek appears to have unfortunately fallen into the latter camp, with the Dutchman falling spectacularly short of justifying the £40million Manchester United forked out for him in the summer of 2020 while under the reign of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Purchased from Eredivisie giants Ajax, expectations were high for Van de Beek. The technically gifted midfielder had shown the world his supreme quality with the ball during some stellar Champions League displays. However, the Old Trafford faithful has seen nothing of the sort.
It is not for the want of trying on the midfielder's part. Behind the scenes, Van de Beek's attitude is reportedly exemplary and he has been incredibly professional from the moment he made the move to Manchester.
Speaking in January of this year while United were in abysmal form, Rio Ferdinand spoke glowingly of Van de Beek's conduct and questioned why he wasn't being rewarded with more first-team minutes.
"A player like Donny van de Beek, who is conducting himself very well from what I hear from people on the inside, who just isn't getting game time. You're happy for those guys to go and find time to play."
HAVE YOUR SAY! Should United cash in on Van de Beek this summer? Comment below
Sure enough, shortly after Van de Beek left Old Trafford on a temporary basis to join Everton on loan, but the spell at Goodison Park failed to inspire the kind of form he enjoyed at Ajax.
After spending the second half of last season on the blue half of Merseyside, Van de Beek returned to Old Trafford where many fans were willing to give him another chance due to the arrival of Erik ten Hag in the hot seat.
The pair worked closely with each other at Ajax and Van de Beek played some of his best football in Amsterdam under the current Red Devils boss.
Therefore, many perhaps rightly assumed that if anyone could get a tune out of Van de Beek it was the man who got the best out of him in the first place. Yet low and behold, it has simply been a case of more of the same for the 25-year-old under his old boss.
In fact, his time at Old Trafford arguably slumped to its lowest point to date during Sunday's 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa.
Van de Beek was handed a rare Premier League start and failed miserably to take the chance handed to him. He was hauled off shortly after the hour mark but for good reason, putting in a dire display at Villa Park.
Former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison blasted the Dutchman for being too slow in possession, telling BBC 5 Live: " Donny van de Beek hasn't played a lot of football.
"I watched him the other night against Real Sociedad and he looked a bit short, so I was surprised and it's a big call for Ten Hag to put him in there.
"Donny van de Beek took about five years to play the ball out and that's why he isn't up to the pace with it.
"It was great play from Diogo Dalot, when Van de Beek gets there he should just spin it in the channels straight away. Marcus Rashford made a great run and can't get back onside by the time Donny van de Beek plays it."
It was a sentiment shared by plenty of United fans online, with one supporter taking to Twitter to write: "Sorry to say but Donny Van De Beek doesn't have a future at Man United".
Another added: "It's about time Manchester United let go of Donny Van De Beek, he can't make it at United."
The general consensus is Van de Beek's time at United is over and he should head elsewhere to try and revive his flatlining career, but it could be difficult for Ten Hag to come to terms with the fact he hasn't got him playing the kind of football they enjoyed together at Ajax.
Despite how miserably this chapter of his career has gone, there's every chance that Van de Beek would still have some suitors and if the right price was offered, Ten Hag will have a difficult decision to make next summer, with a January move looking unlikely.
