It's illuminating to flick through the archives now from early September 2020, when Manchester United had just signed Donny van de Beek for £35m, rising to £40m with add-ons. It was one of those few deals that seemed to unite everyone in its merits. Dissenting voices were almost impossible to find.
Rafael van der Vaart felt the move was deserved for Van de Beek and perfect for United. "Manchester United really need this kind of player in their team," he said.
"This transfer is fantastic for us [Dutch] too. We are all going to follow him now. This move is so deserved."
The Dutch long stopped following Van de Beek and barely a paragraph will be dedicated to him this week, as the national team prepares for a European Championship semi-final with England.
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Micah Richards will be on punditry duty for the game in Germany. He was once an ardent admirer of Van de Beek too.
"Van de Beek is a wonderful player. He has so much skill and is very comfortable on the ball," he said at the time of the signing.
"I've got to give United a lot of credit for how they did that deal to bring him in from Ajax. There was hardly any whisper of it and then — Bam, there he is at Old Trafford! It looks like an excellent piece of business."
Then there were the supporters. Van de Beek, Fernandes and Paul Pogba gave United "one of the most promising midfields in Europe", said one Twitter user.
"A good amount of CL experience, hard working & versatile, excellent movement in & around the box, will chip in with goals + assists, only 23 years old & he only cost £35m. Donny van de Beek will be an excellent addition to our squad," said another.
None of this is designed to mock anybody who had this done as a rare transfer banker. In fact, looking back through those archives, I see that I called it as a "savvy bit of business by United, conducted swiftly and silently."
It just seemed to tick every box. Van de Beek had been bound for the Bernabeu until the Covid-19 pandemic blew a hole in Real Madrid's finances. United stepped in, landing a 23-year-old midfielder who had been a shining light in Ajax's run to the Champions League semi-finals.
If there was a flaw to this deal, it was that it was too opportunistic. Van de Beek spoke to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before completing the move but there never seemed to be a plan on where he should fit in. He ended up playing deep, but is better in a more advanced role. The kind filled unstintingly at Old Trafford by Bruno Fernandes.
When United confirmed the signing, Solskjaer said Van de Beek had the right blend of technical quality and personality to thrive at the club. It's forgotten now, but Van de Beek actually scored 13 minutes into his United career, coming off the bench for Pogba against Crystal Palace and halving the deficit in what ended as a 3-1 defeat. It all looked so promising then.
The next 2,163 minutes of football for United produced only one more goal. There was a certain irony in that it was the last of the Solskjaer era in a 4-1 defeat at Watford. By then, Van de Beek was a cause celebre for the Stretford End, a player who was championed as a way of questioning the Norwegian's decisions. Then he failed to convince Erik ten Hag, his former Ajax manager, and the writing was on the wall.
Injuries have been a recurring problem and Van de Beek hasn't played 90 minutes for anyone since April 2022, when he was on loan at Everton. His last 90 minutes for United came in a Champions League dead rubber against Young Boys in December 2021.
While some of his United teammates returned to Carrington earlier this week, Van de Beek has been tying up a move to Girona. He will be playing Champions League football next season, at least, although the fact he confirmed his departure on Instagram before the club's official channels had mentioned it summed up his status now.
Just like for United four years ago, this is an opportunistic move from the City Football Group-owned club. They will get an experienced midfielder, with Champions League pedigree, and will hope they can get the best out of him again. The difference is this gamble, at an initial €450,000, is in almost no-lose territory, even accounting for €4.5m of fairly attainable add-ons.
The cut-price deal reflects the fact that Van de Beek has just a year left on his contract. United didn't want to sanction a free transfer at this stage, but his injury record and lack of form didn't exactly lead to clubs forming an orderly queue.
So the transfer that couldn't lose is leaving United red-faced and embarrassed. As football operations at Old Trafford enter a new era under Ineos, this is exactly the kind of situation Sir Jim Ratcliffe is desperate to avoid.
But would Ineos have acted any differently four years ago? Would Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox looked at the availability of a proven performer on the biggest stage for just £40m and thought it was a no-brainer? Possibly. Perhaps even probably.
It just goes to show that even the best-looking deals can fall flat in this game. Ineos will bring a new level of scrutiny and rigour to the process of recruitment. But you can be absolutely certain that they will make mistakes as well. Even the best run clubs do. It's the fable of Van de Beek.
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