Edwin van der Sar has already told Manchester United their Donny van de Beek plan

Had things gone a little differently Donny van de Beek could be a Champions League winner by now, rather than a frustrated midfielder finding it hard to make an impression in the Premier League.

In the 2020 transfer window, a deal to take Van de Beek to Real Madrid was pretty much done. A fee had been agreed with Ajax and Van de Beek was ready to sign on the dotted line at the Bernabeu.

But this was at a time when the financial landscape for Europe's elite clubs was looking uncertain, with no sign of a return to normality and matchday revenues during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Real were finding it difficult to get their own house in order.

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It has since been suggested a failure to move on either James Rodriguez or Gareth Bale led to the collapse of Van de Beek's move to Madrid. Real had courted the midfielder for a while but ultimately had to pull out of a move.

That allowed Manchester United to hijack the move and a transfer to Old Trafford was agreed surprisingly quickly, given United's reputation in recruitment circles at the time.

Van de Beek might have had his heart set on Madrid, but this would have still felt like the move to an elite club his Ajax performances had warranted. The reality has turned out to be very different.

Rather than winning the Champions League in Paris last month, Van de Beek was on the periphery of a Premier League survival battle with Everton.

Instead of learning to inherit Luka Modric's midfield role for Madrid, he has failed to displace Scott McTominay and Fred at Manchester United.

Until joining Everton on loan in January, Van de Beek had started just four out of 50 Premier League games for United,