Manchester United narrowly won a friendly over Olympique Lyonnais today, 1-0, thanks to a goal from embattled midfielder Donny van de Beek. It was the Dutchman’s first goal since May of 22, scored while he was on loan with Everton in a 5-1 defeat to Arsenal.
It was the former Ajax man’s first goal in a United short since November of 2021, scored in a 4-1 defeat at Watford
GOALLL!!! ??@Donny_Beek6 opens the scoring with a sweet volley ?#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 19, 2023
Out since January with a knee injury, this was a fine moment for DVDB at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. And as you obviously know, those have been very few and exceedingly far between during his Red Devils career. Good for Van de Beek though!
Maybe this impresses upon manager Erik ten Hag, and perhaps reminds him of his quality and potential.
Maybe Van de Beek stays put come summer transfer window deadline day? Perhaps he gets a chance to restart his United career?
This, and everything else involving this match was greatly overshadowed by the club’s second signing of the summer- Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana.
The club have yet to officially announce him, as he’s still finalizing the minute details of his move, but Onana did give an interview in the Italian media that confirmed his transfer.
Read the details of that interview over at this link.
The next position United must sign a player at is striker, as it’s their biggest void.
Rasmus Hojlund has been strongly linked, but there just hasn’t been any breakthrough in negotiations yet.
Atalanta continues to play hard ball in terms of their valuation. This despite Hojlund having already agreed on personal terms.
Onana is apparently in favor of Hojlund joining him at Old Trafford though. At least according to some of his recent social media behavior.
According to Sport Bible, “Onana’s Instagram account had ‘liked’ an image on 443’s account, which detailed (transfer guru Fabrizio) Romano’s update on Hojlund’s proposed move to United.”
Hmmm. interesting. That’s the summer silly season for you- always a chance to overanalyze social media behavior, in an attempt to read the tea leaves.
Finally, Jonny Evans, yes that Jonny Evans actually, came on at half-time in Edinburgh today.
The 35-year-old, who signed a short term deal with the club for just the preseason, made his first appearance for United in eight years.
The idea is that this second stint with United will help facilitate the move to a new club for him.
With Leicester City having been relegated, he’s lookin for a fresh start elsewhere.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.