Manchester United have had an eventful transfer period so far.
The Red Devils already bolstered their depth with the additions of Fred, Diogo Valot and Lee Grant; all of them are players with a defensive-minded focus that should help the team in both the short-term and long-term picture. Plus. Fred will have the tough role to replace Michael Carrick – and that is clearly not an easy things to do. However, there have been some departures as well.
The first one that has been confirmed is the one of Daley Blind. The versatile Dutch international will no longer play for The Red Devils, as he has been sold to Ajax.
Blind’s future was written on the wall for quite a while
Ajax have today confirmed that they’ve re-signed Daley Blind in a deal that could rise to around £18.1 million. The 28-year-old, who can play as either a midfielder or defender, hasn’t been able to lock down a consistent place in the first team with Manchester United. Now, he’s returning to the place that he called home for so many years.
Blind made the move to Old Trafford back in 2014. The Amsterdam-born Daley initially got off to a promising start in English football with a series of impressive performances, but over time, he seemed to fall out of favour before the rumours surrounding his future started to get louder and louder. He barely saw action with Jose Mourinho last season, and was limited to just four Premier League starts. Now he will return to the place he once called home.
How does this impact the side ahead of the 2018-19 season?
It might be harsh, but the reality here is undisputable: Blind’s departure should not have much of an impact on Manchester United’s outlook for the 2018-19 season. He got displaced on the left-back role by Ashley Young and Luke Shaw, and the arrival of Diogo Valot could have made things even more difficult for him.
The same goes for the right-back (Matteo Darmian and Antonio Valencia edged him) and centre-back (Bailly, Smalling, Jones, Rojo, etc) roles. Honestly, it seemed as if Blind did not have much of a space for United’s squad going forward. He didn’t even travel with the team for the U.S. Tour, and that is a huge statement on how much Mourinho was planning to use him next season.
Throughout his career, Blind registered 141 appearances for Manchester United.
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