Manchester United’s £40,000,000 flop ‘struggling to adapt’ to new club

Manchester United’s £40,000,000 flop Donny van de Beek is ‘struggling to adapt’ to his new club Girona, according to reports.

The Red Devils splashed out a huge fee to sign the Dutch midfielder from Ajax in 2020 but he massively struggled before United sold him in a permanent transfer.

Van de Beek made a total of 62 appearances for United, producing just two goals and two assists in what was a hugely underwhelming spell in England.

United offloaded him to Spanish side Girona in July, but even after stepping down to a smaller club, Van de Beek is still having a hard time getting back to his best.

That’s according to Spanish outlet Sport, who report that Van de Beek arrived ‘blighted by physical problems’ due to his lack of game time at Old Trafford.

Van de Beek’s issues are not just physical, though, with the player also ‘having problems adapting’ to the tactics of his new manager Michel.

The 27-year-old has made four appearances across all competitions for Girona to date, three of which saw him come on as a substitute in La Liga.

Van de Beek was also handed a start in the Champions League against Paris-Saint Germain, playing for 58 minutes before he was taken off.

Meanwhile, speaking earlier this month, Marco van Basten criticised Van de Beek’s agent for allowing the midfielder to join United in 2020.

‘His manager was a bad advisor in that. That step was much too big,’ Van Basten said of Van de Beek’s move to United.

‘As an agent, you have to be able to decide – I’m sending him to that club, because that’s where he’s going to play. He went to two clubs and didn’t play a match.’

Frank de Boer added: ‘It’s actually crazy, idiotic and strange that such a player has barely played football for two years. Sometimes you have to join a club that suits you.

‘At Manchester United I saw him pick up balls on the left wing. I say… ‘you shouldn’t be doing that, you have to go for that goal’.’