Daley Blind to Ajax| Deal to be done at 16m euros plus 5m in bonuses

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Good deal for both clubs, he’s a good player just not good enough for United, and he’s not a very useful squad player either for our needs.
Not big enough for a CB, not quick enough for a full back.
 
Good luck to Daley.

A very professional hard working, decent player.

Hard to say bad things about him. Yes maybe not nailing down a position or bringing the dynamism in a money fueled league, but still a solid reliable player.

Decent return on him especially given Ajax probably aren't benefiting from the extra money in football as much as clubs in the top few leagues.
 
Seemed a genuine nice bloke, but Blind was too lightweight and slow for Mourinho. His best play was probably under VG when he played CB.
 
Good luck to him. Had he been a bit more athletic he would have been our best defender.
 
Heista said:
What I dont get is that some people will use a 'goodbye' thread to only say not nice things about a player who always gave his best and never complained.

It doesnt even matter if he is not good enough for united or whether he is CB backup number 9. He played for United. He won trophies with United. Is it then not a normal thing to wish he 'fares well'?

Absolutely mindblowing post.
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I think it's more normal to reflect on his time here as thats a point of conversation than to post well wishes as if this forum is an office leaving card. He ain't reading the thread i don't know why anyone else would want to read me saying well wishing platitudes l. Always strikes me as strange
 
I always liked him . Clever footballer just didn't fit in Jose's plans a little on the slow side I think . Good luck to him always seemed like a good bloke that gave everything .
 
Dante said:
A below average central defender, whose positional intelligence was massively overrated because his passing intelligence was reasonably good.
I can't remember another regular Manchester United CB who got the offside line wrong as often as Blind. I would have liked to have seen more of him at DM, but he's evidently not Jose's cup of tea in that area.
Best of luck to him, but he was never close to being good enough for us. Certainly not the footballing Einstein many made him out to be.
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Agreed, I find the passing stuff genuinely bizarre. If you can't defend, you're not a good defender no matter how good your passing is.
 
Pretty good deal that we got more for Blind than they will get for Kluivert. Glad to see us sticking to our guns. Same with Darmian.

As for Blind, he was likable but I think he would only ever make it as a utility player at any of the top 6.
 
Sounds as though we have struck a hard bargain here and achieved a maximum transfer fee. We are no longer pushovers..!!
 
Thanks for the memories, Daley! Had some great appearances under Van Gaal and a great technique / vision to intercept the ball
 
That's a fair price all things considered.

Model professionals such as Daley Blind are a rare commodity these days. It's nice that he gets to finish his career in his home country. All the best to him.

Oh, and thanks for this.

 
Great memories of him sending Emre Can flying at Juanfield, and that well worked free kick in another game against Liverpool.

He was usually better than he got credit for, often targeted as not being physical enough, but played very well against guys much bigger than him more often than not. Individually his best games came as a left back IMO but I liked Smalling and Blind as a unit with contrasting qualities.

He was a good buy for the relatively cheap price, and it appears we're getting back what we paid for him thereabouts. Good deal all around.
 
Not a hard enough worker for Jose, but an extremely talented football player.
His reading of the game and technique is top class.
Had some very good apperances for us, he'll tear it up for Ajax.
 
Good player, but we need better. If he was really that good, he would have switched to a bigger club.

16m is peanuts.
 
ayushreddevil9 said:
Good player, but we need better. If he was really that good, he would have switched to a bigger club.

16m is peanuts.
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It's all relative. For Ajax this is a lot of money and a terrific deal for both sides given we get out money back and allow them to take back a 29 year old.
 
We will miss you and your hair and your calmness on the pitch Daley!
 
Think a lot of top clubs in less physical leagues have missed a trick here.
 
Random Task said:
That's a fair price all things considered.

Model professionals such as Daley Blind are a rare commodity these days. It's nice that he gets to finish his career in his home country. All the best to him.

Oh, and thanks for this.

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What a brilliant goal that was, excellent finish. I am so gutted it didn’t work out as I think he is a lovely footballer.

Adisa said:
Think a lot of top clubs in less physical leagues have missed a trick here.
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Absolutely, totally agree.
 
FootballHQ said:
Have Ajax always been big spenders in recent times? 10m + on Tadic and now Blind plus anyone else who's gone under the radar.
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No we haven't, but the fact is we sell players for a lot of money for years now and always failed on the transfer market. Marc Overmars was always controlled by some people in the board. Now those people have left the club, Overmars has more room to do his business and it pays off for me. Our fans were complaining about money on the bank instead of on the pitch. I think you all remember the Europa League final where our average age was like 20. With the likes of Blind and Tadic we get a lot of experience to lead our young team. Both are top signings for any team in the Dutch Eredivisie imo.
 
I'm still a big fan of his and hope he gets on great back home at Ajax. Can't help but feel he's a bit wasted in the Eredivise and would've been a fine player for a slightly below top tier English/Spanish side or a top tier Italian one.
 
I was a fan. If you pushed his physicality stats up a notch you'd have a world class defender there I think.

He served the club well. I remember thinking he was going to be terrible at centre half but he really wasn't. Mourinho made up his mind on him playing there the day he came. Shame because that's his best position. Modern day left backs need the physicality but centre halves don't as much. If I was Ajax I'd play him at centre half but it'll be interesting to see where he plays for them. He was a CDM when he was there before us.

I wish him well.
 
He's a nice lad. Sorry to see him go on a personal level - he's likeable like Mata. But he was at best a squad player. Decent on the ball but not fast or strong enough to compete in midfield or defence.

Best wishes to him.
 
Class act on and off the pitch. If he was quicker/stronger he would be a very good player. Great footballing brain, understanding of the game and left foot.
 
Good luck Daley!

Likeable person I hope he does well for Ajax.
 
Comments about how he was good but not good enough for United. While I agree, if we don't sign a LB we've just sold our best one.

If we're not signing a LB, we should have kept him imo.
 
GBBQ said:
Pretty good deal that we got more for Blind than they will get for Kluivert. Glad to see us sticking to our guns. Same with Darmian.

As for Blind, he was likable but I think he would only ever make it as a utility player at any of the top 6.
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That's because Kluivert is highly overrated
 
MadDogg said:
I'll always remember him for his second season when he was surprisingly transformed into quite a good central defender. That was a successful season for him. Otherwise it never quite worked out, but good luck to him back in Ajax.
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He made Smalling experienced the best season he ever had.
 
diarm said:
I'm still a big fan of his and hope he gets on great back home at Ajax. Can't help but feel he's a bit wasted in the Eredivise and would've been a fine player for a slightly below top tier English/Spanish side or a top tier Italian one.
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He could've gone to a club in a better competition for sure if he wanted, but Ajax is his club, Amsterdam his hometown.

CA1 said:
I was a fan. If you pushed his physicality stats up a notch you'd have a world class defender there I think.

He served the club well. I remember thinking he was going to be terrible at centre half but he really wasn't. Mourinho made up his mind on him playing there the day he came. Shame because that's his best position. Modern day left backs need the physicality but centre halves don't as much. If I was Ajax I'd play him at centre half but it'll be interesting to see where he plays for them. He was a CDM when he was there before us.

I wish him well.
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Most Ajax supporters and Dutch media expect him to play indeed as center half next to De Ligt.
 
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