2
Manchester United have been making moves in the transfer market and their former players are doing the same.
Girona FC have announced that Daley Blind has signed for the club for two years on a free transfer.
Blind joins from Bayern Munich, where he played for six months after Ajax let him go on a free transfer after five years at the club post his signing from United.
His arrival at Bayern raised some eyebrows as to whether he was good enough to contribute to the German champions. He made just five appearances in six months totalling 157 minutes.
However, Blind is clearly still valued as an experienced head in the dressing room, something which Girona alluded to in their announcement as well.
Moreover, his positional versatility opens up a lot of options for his manager to set his team up.
At United, he memorably defied critics by playing a steady role at centre-back, mainly alongside Chris Smalling.
He was also deployed as a left-back, where his ball circulation skills and calmness in possession proved particularly useful to Louis van Gaal.
He left United in 2018 for a homecoming with Ajax, four years after he made the reverse move. During his four years at the club, he won the FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Community Shield, and a Europa League title while making 141 appearances.
The former United man was recently in the news when he said that he could have leveraged his connection with manager Erik ten Hag to seek a return to United but chose not to.
It remains to be seen how big of a contributor he can be to Girona’s fortunes. However, at his age, with his playing style, there can be no better option than playing in the slower, technical-based La Liga.
Moreover, Girona play a possession-oriented style under Michel which should suit Blind to a tee.
At United, Blind will be remembered as the consummate professional who could be relied upon for giving a consistent performance regardless of the position he was deployed in.
