Manchester United made headlines for the right reasons this week with an initiative inviting former academy players back to the club to try and establish new pathways for them.
These included Tom Thorpe, Matthew Olosunde, Eric Hanbury, Callum Gribbin, Joe Thompson, Ro-Shaun Williams and Oli Kilner.
One player who came through the Manchester United academy and has had a mixed career since is Dutch winger Gyliano van Velzen.
Manchester United signed Van Velzen from Ajax in 2010, hoping he would become a future first team star. The deal frustrated the Dutch side so much The Guardian reported Ajax were considering complaining to UEFA, and wrote to David Gill about the matter.
Gyliano van Velzen career since leaving Manchester United
It did not quite happen for Gyliano van Velzen at Old Trafford, despite a very promising start. He was part of a FA Youth Cup winning side in 2010 alongside Paul Pogba, Ravel Morrison and Sam Johnstone, and also reached the semi-finals in 2011.
While Pogba went onto become a superstar, Van Velzen’s career took a different path. He was released by Manchester United in 2013, and returned to the Netherlands with Utrecht.
His time in the Eredivisie worked out poorly. He made only two appearances, before being moved on just over a year later.
He dropped down to the Dutch second tier with Volendam, where he started playing regular football and earned a call-up into the Netherlands under-21 squad. But this was not the catalyst for change he would have hoped for.
Van Velzen found some consistency here, spending two years at Volendam and another three years at Roda JC, amassing more than 120 appearances. Then a surprise move came his way.
The winger signed with another team nicknamed The Red Devils in 2019, pitching up at League Two side Crawley Town.
He was given their number 11 shirt, with manager Gabriele Cioffi telling their club media: “We welcome Gyliano to the club. He has a lot to offer us we believe. He is strong and quick and can bring assists and goals. The football in Holland is more technical but he has the attributes to make a positive contribution to us.”
However, the move turned into a disaster. Van Velzen played only five matches, failing to score, and was loaned to National League side Aldershot Town, and released in 2020.
He returned to the Netherlands with Telstar, before a spell in Cyprus, and now he is back in his homeland once again.
Gyliano van Velzen in 2023
Gyliano van Velzen is now playing for Dutch fourth division side VVSB. It is not where he will have pictured himself at 29-years-old.
Nonetheless, the former Manchester United and Ajax whizkid is making the most of his current opportunity, and might just be enjoying his football.
Van Velzen has scored five goals this season already, one short of the six goals netted across the entirety of the 2015/16 campaign, his previous best tally. This is on course to be the best season of his career.
With his career not hitting the heights he hopes, you ask just one thing, for a player in his situation to be enjoying his football, and quite simply, to keep at it.
Van Velzen is doing both, showing persistence, and showing his worth. He may still have a few more years left in him.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/PSN5BOt