Raging Donny van de Beek must quit Man Utd to save career and mental wellbeing after furious Villarreal bench outburst
IF YOU want to know what sort of state of mind Donny van de Beek is in, take a look back to the 84th minute of Manchester United’s win over Villarreal.
The scores are level. United are in desperate need of a win to get their Champions League group stage up and running after losing to Young Boys in their opener.
Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to his bench for inspiration.
It’s hardly a surprise that he sees Van de Beek staring back at him. The Dutch midfielder has been on the bench in seven of United’s nine games in all competitions this season.
He has appeared just three times. For five minutes at the end of the 4-1 win at home to Newcastle. For 45 minutes against Young Boys before being hooked at half time.
His only 90 minute run-out was in the Carabao Cup against West Ham. A 1-0 defeat.
But perhaps this time would be different. Maybe this was the chance to win back favour with Ole, play a part in a late winner and finally get his Old Trafford career kick-started.
Think again. Ole opted for Jesse Lingard and Fred, the latter a damning indictment of Ole’s belief and trust in Van de Beek - especially as Fred was brought on for Alex Telles at left back.
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Ironically, it was Fred who put in the cross in the 95th minute towards Cristiano Ronaldo, and it was Lingard who then teed up the Portuguese superstar for the dramatic winner.
Van de Beek would not have remotely seen the funny side of that particular passage of play.
Since his £40m move from Ajax last summer, the 24-year-old has done well to keep his frustrations and emotions in check, not wanting to throw his toys out of the pram.
But on this occasion, his rage got the better of him.
As Fred and Lingard prepared to come on, with Ole barking instructions at them, Van de Beek can be seen in the background in the front row of the subs bench.
Fuming. Piercing eyes.
Eric Bailly, sat to his team-mate’s left, does his best to console with a pat on the chest, while Dean Henderson follows that up with a pat on the back from behind.
But it doesn’t work. In the clearest sign that he has given up ever making it at Man United, he takes his chewing gum out of his mouth and throws it in anger at the floor of the dug-out.
Whether Ole sees this clip and decides to have a word is anyone’s guess, not that Van de Beek would take any notice.
The last time they spoke in depth was at the start of the season. Ole told Van de Beek that he wanted him to stay to fight for his place. He made him feel wanted, for once.
But since then, after Everton had made an approach late in the transfer window, that interest disappeared as Van de Beek continues to rot and see his reputation disintegrate.
Earlier this month, Van de Beek spoke to Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel about his own future, and admitted he did not expect Ole to guarantee him a place.
But he also said: “I have asked to play more. You can train hard every day, but in the end, you need game time.
“If you only play once a month, you cannot show your best form – playing is really important.”
At this rate, he will be lucky if he gets to play once a month, and Wednesday night will only vindicate his own thoughts that he needs to get out of Old Trafford.
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Whether that is back to Ajax where he was truly loved and adored, to a top team in Europe willing to give him a chance, or even a team in the Premier League where he can play weekly.
To save his mental wellbeing. To save his confidence. To save his career.
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