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Former Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek has blamed his struggles at Old Trafford on a major knee injury he suffered.
Van de Beek left United in the summer after an extremely difficult four years, in which he struggled for form and consistency.
He never really managed to break into the team and failed to justify the £35million that was forked out to secure his services from Ajax.
Even Erik ten Hag – a manager Van de Beek successfully worked with in the Eredivisie – could not overturn the player’s fortunes in England.
Van de Beek sustained a serious knee injury in January 2023 that required surgery and left him sidelined for the rest of the campaign.
In an interview with The Athletic, the now Girona star has blamed the knee issue for his woes at United.
When asked whether he felt something wasn’t adding up at United, Van de Beek replied, “I don’t know. I think the start was quite good. When I played, I think in the start of the season, I did well, and then for different reasons… I don’t know exactly but I didn’t play.”
“Yes. It was tough [his second season]. Normally in the second season, everything gets better for a lot of players. But I think it was also a difficult situation. I think the coach left (Ole Gunnar Solskjaer), and a new coach came in (Ralf Rangnick) and then it’s always chaotic. You know it’s not in a stable situation. So then… I went to Everton because of that, yes.”
On whether he expected a new lease of life when Ten Hag arrived at United, Van de Beek told the newspaper, “Yes, of course. I think it was quite unlucky because I played some more games, especially closer to the winter, and then I got injured (in January 2023, a knee injury ruled him out for the rest of the season). That was not easy. It was very bad timing.”
“If you start to play a little bit more, then you can get the rhythm of everything. But that injury arrived, you need to restart again, you need to come up. There are new players coming in, and you start from the backseat again. It’s difficult. I would say this was a key moment for me at Manchester United. In this period normally when you play, you get stronger and better. But I got this injury. That was tough.”
On whether he struggled to adjust to the physicality and intensity of the Premier League, Van de Beek stated, “If you start to play a little bit more, then you can get the rhythm of everything. But that injury arrived, you need to restart again, you need to come up. There are new players coming in, and you start from the backseat again. It’s difficult. I would say this was a key moment for me at Manchester United. In this period normally when you play, you get stronger and better. But I got this injury. That was tough.”
Van de Beek admitted that his troubles at United took a mental toll on him.
He mentioned that he doesn’t know whether or not he harbours any regrets about signing for the Red Devils. He reiterated once again, “I think, as I said, that the key moment was when I was playing some games and then I got a bad, bad injury. That was the moment for me to take it, but then I had this injury… and that was a game changer.”
The Girona man insisted that there were plenty of people at Old Trafford who tried to help him and talk to him but ultimately, the burden was on him to improve.
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