Part of the Ajax side that stormed to the Champions League semi-final in 2019, Donny van de Beek was one of a number of talented stars for the Dutch outfit who appeared to have the world at their feet.

Scouts around Europe keenly tracked the midfielder, alongside several of his teammates at the time, including Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong and Hakim Ziyech.

All of those named eventually got their big moves. De Ligt joined Juventus, De Jong linked up with Barcelona and Ziyech made the switch to Chelsea.

Van de Beek got his big opportunity too - or so he thought - when he moved to Manchester United in August 2020. Arriving with a considerable £35 million price tag attached to him, fans at Old Trafford were looking forward to seeing plenty of the pinpoint passing and incisive link-up play that had made him such a dangerous prospect for opposition sides across Europe during the previous season.

Unfortunately for all concerned, Van de Beek has never really been afforded much of an opportunity to make his mark with the Red Devils.

Since signing his five-year contract at the Theatre of Dreams, the 24-year-old has been limited to just 20 Premier League appearances for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men, with many of those coming from the bench.

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ENTER GIVEAWAY

Van de Beek's frustration over his lack of playing time at United come to the fore earlier this week, as footage emerged of him throwing both his chewing gum and training bib to the floor during his side's Champions League encounter with Villarreal after realising that he would, once again, be an unused substitute on the night.

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Solskjaer has since come out to insist that there is no room at United for "sulkers". However, thousands of fans appear to disagree with the way that Van de Beek is being used at present after sending a compilation of his 2018/19 Champions League highlights for Ajax viral.

You can check out the video for yourself below, but there is no denying that Van de Beek displayed some serious talent against some of Europe's best. 

As well as setting up goals for others, the compilation also captures Van de Beek's own prowess in front of the target, featuring his strikes against Juventus and Tottenham.

Granted, United now have one of the most stacked midfield line-ups in world football. Getting into any side that boasts both Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes is going to be a struggle for pretty much any player.

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With that said, when watching highlights of him in full flow, it's hard not to have some level of sympathy with Van de Beek over the way things have turned out for him over the past 12 months.

Van de Beek has started just four Premier League games for United in the last year. Given his rocky relationship with the club at present, he may well not increase that tally either. 

The Dutchman's time at Old Trafford seems destined to be a case of what might have been. 

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