CONFIRMED: Manchester United Agree £18.5m Deal
Reuters / Jason Cairnduff
Manchester United have agreed on a deal for Daley Blind, who will return to his former club Ajax for an initial fee of £14 million, which can rise as high as £18.5 million through performance-based add-ons, as reported by the BBC.
This will mean that the Mancunian club has made a fair profit on the Dutch international, who was initially purchased by Louis van Gaal on deadline day in 2014 for a sum of £13.8 million.
Blind’s stay at United was a fruitful tenure, as he was a crucial part in the club winning their major laurels of the FA Cup, League Cup, and the UEFA Europa League.
While initially given a more central-defensive holding midfielder role, the seasons under Jose Mourinho saw him being used as a traditional defender, often even being relegated to flank-duty.
This saw his usefulness dwindle quite a bit, so much so that apart from Champions League cameos, he really wasn’t that crucial of a player in last year’s campaign. This is what spurred on the initial rumors that he was exit-bound at the start of the window, alongside Matteo Darmian.
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However, Mourinho had then come out and stated that both players were in his plans for this season, and that unless they requested a departure, no sale would be made.
With this major update, one can only ascertain that a departure was badly required by the 28-year-old, who clearly saw a return to Ajax as his best-bet for regular football.
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Ajax manager Erik ten Hag had this to say about his side’s latest signing: “[He is] a player with a lot of experience, in the Premier League and in the Dutch national team. He is a stable personality. Just like the arrival of Dusan Tadic, this also counts as a considerable effort of the club.”
What does this mean for the other players at Old Trafford, whose futures are under some doubt as well?