Man Utd thought they’d signed Scholes 2.0, then Ten Hag sold him for £420k

Manchester United’s esteemed academy is undoubtedly one of the best in footballing history. From the Busby Babes to the Class of ‘92, right the way through to the likes of Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford today, they have produced some simply extraordinary footballers.

Perhaps the most famous set of academy graduates to come out of United was the Class of ‘92. Consisting of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and David Beckham, the stars were responsible for large portions of United’s success. Their best achievement, above all, was the treble in 1999.

Whilst all six were superstars in their own right, arguably the best of the bunch was Scholes.

Scholes’ United career

There will never be a definitive answer to the age-old question of who is the best midfielder between Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. In many ways, it is perhaps a pointless debate given the former United midfielder was a key part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s dominance over English football.

Amongst others, the Englishman, who made 66 caps for his country, won the Premier League title 11 times, the Champions League twice and the FA Cup four times.

He won 26 titles during his time at the club, which, of course, included the famous treble in 1999, although he missed the iconic Champions League final at the Nou Camp through suspension.

In total, United’s former number 18 made 718 appearances for his boyhood club, scoring 155 goals in that time. He retired twice for United, once in 2010/11 after the Champions League final loss to Barcelona, before reversing his decision a few months later and staying until Ferguson’s last season, 2012/13.

United legend Sir Bobby Charlton put into words how great Scholes was, once praising him for the fact he was “always so in control” on the ball, before describing the midfielder as “a beautiful player to watch”.

Indeed, if there is one thing Scholes is remembered for nowadays, it is his spellbinding passing ability. He could effortlessly land the ball at his desired destination every single time, making it look so easy. His technique was second to none, and he could execute any type of pass.

He was the epitome of United, and for years the Red Devils have searched high and low for his replacement. They perhaps once thought they had found him, although it was a move that did not work out.

The Scholes-like midfielder who United sold

The player in question here is Netherlands international midfielder Donny van de Beek. United signed him from Ajax back in 2020, for an initial fee of £34.6, with a further £4.4m in potential add-ons.

The Dutchman, a player who possesses superb technical quality between the lines, was compared to Scholes by former United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

The former United number one explained when they signed Van de Beek that he has “a great eye for a goal”, praising his “brilliant” technique before explaining he’d “compare him a little bit to Scholesy”.

Sadly, the move from Amsterdam to Manchester did not work out for the Ajax academy graduate. He played just 62 times for the club in an injury-riddled stint, going out on loan to Everton and Eintracht Frankfurt across his four years at Old Trafford.

Many thought that Erik ten Hag’s appointment would see the midfielder earn more minutes; he had previously played 110 times under his former coach at Ajax, scoring 32 times and grabbing 29 assists. However, he featured on just 12 occasions under his fellow Dutchman.

United sold the midfielder in the summer to Spanish outfit Girona, where he has since gone on to play eight times so far. He cost around £420k up front, with add-ons potentially taking the deal up to £7.66m.

United will no doubt be disappointed that it did not work out for the Dutch midfielder at Old Trafford. They did not manage to find their new Scholes and lost a large chunk of money on the original deal.