Manchester United fans have settled into a pattern with midfielder Donny van de Beek. They demand to know why he doesn’t play, he finally reappears after months on the sidelines and then he reminds everyone why he doesn’t play. Three United managers have now struggled to find a place in their plans for the Netherlands international. You could even count Frank Lampard among the coaches baffled by Van de Beek considering the player spent the latter half of last season at Everton.
The latest evidence for the prosecution came during Van de Beek’s tame performance in the Red Devils’ 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday. The ex-Ajax man had been called into action due to Bruno Fernandes’ suspension. Once again he struggled to impose himself on a Premier League game, putting in an anonymous display.
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The Villa defeat was Donny’s second start in two games, a rare occurrence for the Dutchman. However, he failed to stand out across the two ties and remains at square one in his United development. Purchased for £35 million in the summer of 2020, hopes were high. At a time when it was uncharacteristic for the Glazer family to open their wallet and secure a player whose best years were ahead of them, it was a celebrated move. But the move has never quite fit for the parties involved.
The initial obstacle was the fact Van de Beek is best utilised as a number ten. United already have Fernandes for that role and the new signing also found himself behind the patchy Paul Pogba in the pecking order. Even Juan Mata was favoured in that attacking midfield berth, despite age steadily sapping his performances.
Ultimately, Van de Beek found himself falling victim to a recent United transfer curse. The acquisition of the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Romelu Lukaku and Cristiano Ronaldo are just a few examples of the club buying a big name over addressing a genuine need. Van de Beek was a highly-rated young midfielder with a reputation to match and the 20-time English champions pounced, despite not really needing him. United under Solskjaer cried out for a deep-lying midfielder and instead they bought an advanced one. This disconnect played out publicly, with Van de Beek starting just four Premier League games in his maiden season.
At first there were scores of fans queuing up to cry foul. Solskjaer was a manager that a portion of the fanbase, particularly online, never truly trusted. It was a vendetta they said and no fault of Donny’s that he wasn’t playing. It was a loud if uneducated response. After all, Solskjaer hardly gave the impression of a manager who would cut his nose off to spite his face by dropping a player due to a personal grudge. Particularly because, even in the 24/7 news cycle of modern football, no such grudge was ever so much as rumoured.
Ralf Rangnick was the next coach Van de Beek was charged with endearing himself to, when the German rocked up to do a poor job as interim manager. But Rangnick quickly made up his mind and Van de Beek found himself on loan at Goodison Park. He started six of his first seven games there, before injury saw him make just one further league appearance.
Now in his third season in the English game, it still feels like Van de Beek is yet to truly arrive. Ten Hag was seen as Donny’s best shot at reviving his Old Trafford career. After all, the United boss was the manager that helped put him on the map at Ajax. But the current incumbent has been as baffled with what to do with Van de Beek as his predecessors. Sometimes, despite the best efforts of both sides, a club and a player just don’t fit together.
That was certainly the impression one could glean from watching Van de Beek on Sunday. A fine player on his day, those days are becoming few and far between. His fanbase will still tell you he doesn’t play enough. But if he was tearing it up in training every day, he would be playing more. One manager might just not fancy a player. Three managers from diverse backgrounds and with different tactical needs all deciding against playing you is when you start to worry. Van de Beek just isn’t Manchester United material. A clean break looks like the best move for both parties.
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