The Donny thing is honestly perplexing. Half of this sub and Ole don’t rate him, and don’t think he can get in the team ahead of McFred. But then why wasn’t he allowed to leave? Donny is basically behind Fred, McT, Pogba, and Matic so it’s not like we don’t have the squad depth.
The other half of the sub (me included) rates Donny and doesn’t think he’s been given enough chances in the team to be judged fairly. McFred has been terrible and Donny deserves a start. He said himself he’s willing to play in the double pivot and he’s been working hard on it in preseason. And again, if him being so bad in training is the reason why he’s not starting, then why wasn’t he allowed to leave? Poor from Ole.
He wasn't allowed to leave because the only offer that came in for him was a late loan offer from Everton just before the window closed. I don't think they even offered to cover all of his salary.
Had it been an offer to buy and VDB asked for it we might have considered it more seriously.
But that late in the window for a bad loan offer to a potential top 4 rival it wasn't worth it to us. We probably think he's past the stage where a loan with regular playing time will significantly improve him like we do with youngsters. Nor are we worried about increasing his value as we aren't looking to give up on and sell players after just one season (unless the player asks for it, and a good enough offer comes in at the right time).
That late in the window we wouldn't find a good replacement to be backup if there are injuries. And yes, maybe the Pogba situation also entered the equation, that Pogba could threaten with forcing a move in January to get a better deal, and we could counter with saying we'd like to keep Pogba, but not at any cost because we have a tidy player in VdB that we could play instead of him.
So yes, the situation isn't ideal for VdB. But it's a good situation for the club, and then it's up to himself to impress enough in training and then on the field in the chances that he gets.
People say he doesn't get chances, but in the past weeks he has started twice, in the CL he was unlucky to be sacrificed at half-time for a change in tactics after the red card. I thought he was gonna get another chance against Villareal, but I guess with the makeshift backline and the last match against them in mind he was weighed too light. He'll likely get additional chances to impress against Atalanta and the next Young Boys match. Do well there and he'll get opportunities in the PL.