Why Donny van de Beek's former agent feels he let the Man Utd midfielder down

Robin Bairner

• 29 Sept 2022 14:43 BST
• 2 min read

Donny van de Beek’s former agent Guido Albers says that he feels partly to blame for the failure of the former Ajax midfielder to make an impression at Manchester United.

Van de Been moved to Old Trafford in 2020 for a fee of €39 million, but he has struggled to carve out a niche for himself with the Red Devils, even spending the second half of last season on loan with Everton.

It was hoped that when Erik ten Hag took over, his former Ajax mentor might give him more of an opportunity, but Man Utd chances remain scarce for the 25-year-old. Indeed, he has played just 19 minutes of competitive football this season across three substitute appearances and has dropped out of the picture entirely since Casemiro arrived.

Albers says that it was a difficult transition for Van de Beek to make from Ajax to Man Utd, but that he regrets not having done more to help him.

’I should have done something sooner’

Speaking to the #DoneDeal podcast, he said: “I should have done something sooner: how can I help him?

“In the Netherlands, Donny received all the acclaim. He performed well and was very popular with the fans. But he’s never played regularly at Manchester United and the relationship between him and the club has really cooled down.

“He had to compete against Paul Pogba, among others, to play. He reported to the training camp too late, apologised and was allowed to play again. He was having to train 10 hours a day for eight weeks to show that he was good enough. And I had to deal with that disappointment.

“I didn’t see it coming. I saw the disappointment with the way he’s been treated by Man Utd and he has seen up close what I did to improve the situation. But after he wasn’t allowed to leave them, it was over between us.”

Van de Beek’s affairs are now overseen by Ali Dursun, although Albers does not really understand why.

“I feel like I put my soul into it,” he said. “But after a disappointment, they board the next train. If I asked him to explain what I’ve done wrong, I get nothing back. That’s a shame.”

Van de Beek faces another important crossroads in his career in the year ahead, with a departure from Man Utd looking likely given the current situation.