OFFICIAL: Van de Beek seals Man Utd exit

Tom Weber

Updated: 24 Aug 2023 16:38 BST
3 min read

Noam Emeran has officially departed Manchester United, and Donny van de Beek played a vital role in sealing his exit.

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The French youngster burst onto the scene in pre-season as United put relegated Leeds to the sword in their first friendly earlier in the summer. Emeran starred, scoring once and assisting another.

It was clear, however, that the 20-year-old would struggle to break into the first team for competitive fixtures, having not managed a single senior outing previously despite joining in 2019 after being courted by Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.

His pre-season form attracted plenty of interest despite his lack of first-team football and he has now departed Old Trafford. He could have stayed on board, however, as he had several loan offers, but he has decided to make a permanent switch to the Netherlands.

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There, he has joined up with Groningen, who were embarrassingly relegated from the Eredivisie last term. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Dutch outfit parted with €1 million to land Emeran, and the player has revealed that Donny van de Beek played an important role in this deal.

'Donny told me...'

Speaking after sealing his move, Emeran told club media: "I regularly participated in the first team of Manchester United during pre-season. My teammate Donny van de Beek told me that FC Groningen is a good club, with a lot of support and family."

"I have seen a video of the supporters during the previous home game," he continued. "They really want to fight for their club and I want to fight for the supporters."

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Ironically, Van de Beek himself is seeking to get out of Man Utd. The Dutchman has failed to live up to the hype since his switch from Ajax, with injuries taking a severe toll.

The 26-year-old has been in talks with Real Sociedad over a loan move with an option to buy, but negotiations between the Basque outfit and the Red Devils have thus far proved difficult.