Towards the end of his unveiling at Old Trafford in May, Erik ten Hag was asked by a Dutch journalist about his reunion with Donny van de Beek at Manchester United.
"We had a fantastic squad in that time at Ajax, I had a really good relationship with him and I’m looking forward to meeting him again on the pitch," he said.
This was a day after Van de Beek's disappointing loan spell at Everton had ended, but while his United career had been a two-year nightmare so far, there was an expectation that the arrival of a familiar face in Ten Hag would bring a change in fortunes.
