Manchester United have finally reached a conclusion to the disaster that was the Donny van de Beek signing. Very often injured, and performing poorly when healthy, the former Ajax man was a massive flop.
The Dutch midfielder, who moved over to United on a five year contract for a £35 million transfer fee, plus £5 million in add-ons, is now headed to Girona permanently.
Donny van de Beek earned €500k in around 3.5 weeks. He has been at Manchester United for exactly 200 weeks, meaning he cost – minus bonuses & signing on costs – around €57.3 million in wages & fees since joining from Ajax.
What a disastrous deal for all involved. https://t.co/6juficn6A7
— Adam (@AdamJoseph____) July 7, 2024
Now look at the huge financial losses that United are set to take in finally finding Van de Beek a new home.
Yikes! What a terrible acquisition this was.
????? Donny van de Beek’s move to Girona, expected to be completed early next week if all goes to plan on player side.
Man United will receive bit less than €1m fixed fee plus easy add-ons up to €4/5m based on appearances and extra difficult add-ons, plus sell-on clause. pic.twitter.com/J1hTlSjWnu
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 7, 2024
Tomorrow marks the date that Manchester United players are expected to report back to training camp, to begin the 2024 preseason. And with that in mind, Jadon Sancho is still persona non grata with the club, due to his very public feud with manager Erik ten Hag.
Will he show up at the Carrington training ground? Why can’t the club figure this out? Just like with Mason Greenwood, why can’t they find a solution?
According to the Manchester Evening News: “United’s plan is to sell the winger this summer, with a price tag of £40m placed on him. So far, there has been little suggestion that any club is willing to spend that amount of money on him.”
Obviously, this plan is failing. Just unacceptable, on all levels.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor 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 currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.