Van de Beek has had his last chance at Man Utd

Robin Bairner

• 11 Nov 2022 08:44 GMT
• 3 min read

Thursday’s Carabao Cup clash between Manchester United and Aston Villa may just have been Donny van de Beek’s last chance for redemption at Old Trafford. It was one he failed to take.

Van de Beek’s time at Man Utd has been one that has been littered in disappointments. He failed to make an impression under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Ralf Rangnick and now Erik ten Hag.

His story since arriving from Ajax in 2020 for €39 million has been a strange one. Billed as the next big thing when he arrived from the Netherlands, he was not given the first-team opportunities expected of such a tag.

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After this difficult start, he has flitted into the team only occasionally and typically via the guise of a substitute. When he has had a chance to start, though, he has been underwhelming at best and downright poor at worst.

Van de Beek finished after Villa flop

Thursday’s match against Villa summed up where Van de Beek is at present. During the first half, he managed just 11 touches – a pitiful number for a figure expected to be the fulcrum of the side.

He survived 62 minutes of the match before being withdrawn with United trailing 2-1. Half an hour later, they had sealed their passage through to the next round via a 4-2 victory, with the win looking all rather comfortable after Scott McTominay tapped home in injury time.

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This was surely Van de Beek’s last chance to impress. He had been handed a start days earlier in the Premier League against the same opponents and was similarly anonymous before being withdraw around the same point in the match.

With Man Utd seeking to rebuild, they cannot afford such a passenger.

Perhaps there still is a world-class player in Van de Beek, but with his confidence shot and his playing time destined to be reduced even further, it surely won’t be found at Old Trafford. It’s now best to move on.