He looks lost since he has joined United, like he forgot how to be a professional footballer, and this is highlighted by the looks we see whenever the camera pans to him. I feel sorry for him, and wish him the best elsewhere, this was a huge miss on a player. I mean this guy's output for the club is on par with Bebe's and shit Bebe is a better player than him, that's where the guy stacks up in the united bust line.
34
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 2
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 0
I still believe this was a panic buy by the board when the sancho deal was going nowhere....
Another one of Ole's brilliant signings that we can't move on and still suffer from financially. Others at least showed something but we paid 40m for this nothing player.
Can't think of a single contribution from him other than he scored in the last game of Ole before he got the sack which is pretty ironic.
Can't think of a single contribution from him other than he scored in the last game of Ole before he got the sack which is pretty ironic.
There’s no way Ole wanted him.
So he comes back in a few months and he will have a year left on his contract. Realistically, what are the chances of the club just letting him go for free, in order to drop his wages? I don't know how the finances of a deal like that work and affect our FFP, but I can't see a club offering anything for him - maybe a couple of £m but that's about it.
Never once in his time at United has he looked like a decent player. One of the worst purchases in a long time - up there with Antony, Sanchez and Pogba in the value for money stakes.
Never once in his time at United has he looked like a decent player. One of the worst purchases in a long time - up there with Antony, Sanchez and Pogba in the value for money stakes.
You would need to pay him off for that year at least, and he would have to agree on ending the contract prematurely, which he might not want for other reasons, especially not if he hasn't other good offers. Just letting him go doesn't work if he doesn't want to.
Look, we all know what has to happen at the end of the season after the few years he’s had.
Value-preserving new contract.
Value-preserving new contract.
I think they mean just agreeing to a free transfer to another club.
Do you imagine Ole who clearly adored Bruno and started him every game then never played Van De Beek went to the board and begged them for him?
Yes I got that. I just don't think that he will get offers good enough that "just leave" without any further compensation is really the sensible move for him.
Will be like a new signing when we get him back.
I didn't really see him an Ajax but from what I saw when he was at Utd this is truly the strangest transfer I've ever seen (even more than Bebe). At least Bebe has some physicality and made a career for himself. DVB has absolutely nothing.
I believe we will find another loan for the last year of his contract.... The guy is on £140K per week which is absolutely staggering. I think we will find a club willing to pay 20 or 30K per week for his last year and then he will leave on a free.
With all the agent fees, wages, signing fees etc, this transfer has probably cost the club around £70 million.
Scandal.
I believe we will find another loan for the last year of his contract.... The guy is on £140K per week which is absolutely staggering. I think we will find a club willing to pay 20 or 30K per week for his last year and then he will leave on a free.
With all the agent fees, wages, signing fees etc, this transfer has probably cost the club around £70 million.
Scandal.
There have been a few isolated moments where I felt that he did well in Ole's first season. Have a vague memory of him at Newcastle away when we won 4-1 after scoring 3 goals post 85th minute. Donny had come in and was gelling well with Bruno and Mata with quick interchange of passes. We've given worse players a run in the team but something strange must have undergone that he never got a run in for about 4 years. Especially under Ten Hag who he was so successful with.
He will probably take the option of just monging it out on the bench and in the reserves next season - he won't get a better offer elsewhere. His wages are going to be a stumbling block. Another INEOS headache.
He can’t be on particularly high wages can he?
Ole wanted Grealish, the club gave him Donny. 
He came as a player who had a strong CL season. Now he is a player who was so bad that he wasn't even registered for Frankfurt's ECL squad. Surely his wages are higher than any offer he will receive, no matter how high they actually are.
I’m, that’s a fair point. I hadn’t realised he didn’t make their conference league squad. That’s fairly damning.
God that Champions League run from
5 years ago has a lot to answer for. There’s a few players who moved for huge fees and receive huge wages due to that few months.
Van de beek is probably the worst example, but I reckon you could make an argument that de Ligt, de Jong too.
I dont think he was the first option, but Ole could have said No to Donny. Our managers have a veto.
Ole obviously wanted Grealish as first choice. When Villa didn't get relegated they held out for a huge money (which they got 12 months later from City), so I'd say our scouting department bought VDB up as an alternative and Ole agreed.
So he wasn't Ole's first choice, but it's not like Ole actively didn't want him. From memory VDB has talked about how Ole called him and they had a long discussion about how he'd be used. Of course once he got here his performances didn't warrant playing all that often, but that's a different conversation.
Just cancel his contract, light our wage bill, and let him restart his career in other place
It does not work that way.
If we cancel his contract we have to pay him out in full so we save nothing and due to accelerating the payment of those wages they will hit this years accounts which are in a pretty perilous state already.
As suggested above, waive any requirement for a transfer fee in order to find him a new club in the summer and failing that get him out on loan to anyone willing to pay at least some percentage of his wages until his contract expires.
Reading a piece on the Athletic about Donny. What happened to this guy?
It’s just tragic the turn his career took when he signed here. Very sad.
It’s just tragic the turn his career took when he signed here. Very sad.
One of the most bizarre cases of a footballer checking-out early in his career. He basically retired couple years ago without telling anybody and we are just stuck paying his salary
We already tried the loan - it clearly hasn't worked. We won't be able to find anybody stupid enough to loan him, anymore. The guy is clearly done. I doubt anybody wants him even for free transfer
Remember that letter Ajax wrote us when we signed him? Take care of him blah blah blah.
fecking take him back you cnuts.
fecking take him back you cnuts.
I always thought that letter was a bit weird for what was otherwise just another routine transfer
I think it was just an acknowledgement from VDS. I’m not sure there was too much in it.
classic case of a footballer having a great season or two in a great system. He was nothing special.
The only players from that team worth 2 cents were FDJ and De Ligt. And even they struggled in a top team at times. VdB was always going to end up a dud.
The only players from that team worth 2 cents were FDJ and De Ligt. And even they struggled in a top team at times. VdB was always going to end up a dud.
I don't think there was anything to it either, I just thought it was weird
Only watched Ajax a handful of times but he stuck out to me as a good player. Haven’t even seen a glimpse of it at United
The dutch Kleberson.
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We should stop buying players who have 1 good season. As a matter of principle, the club should have a policy that unless the player has had a consistently good 3-4 seasons then only they get bought. 3 seasons at least.
While I actually agree with the general point, Donny did have 3 very good seasons at Ajax before we bought him.
Ten hag could possibly be the worst haha
It was a shame that a player who wasn't that good to begin with, who was very injury prone and who's best position was where Bruno plays hasn't worked out. Luckily we learnt from that after Van de Beek.
Sure. We were so happy with Donny we also bought his manager and many of his teammates. All world class!
Ngl, when I read that letter, I got a "Please take good care of our autistic child" kind of vibe.
I once saw him play as an attacking midfielder in a game we won 9-0 and he barely touched the ball.