It speaks volumes for Donny van de Beek and his character that Manchester United supporters continue to revere the midfielder despite him not yet showing his true colours at Old Trafford.
Seldom used by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Ralf Rangnick - and Michael Carrick in between - the Netherlands starlet will have closely monitored developments in the United dugout. Should all go as planned, his former manager and mentor T en Hag could be chosen to take the club forward.
Identified as the preferred candidate, that would-be appointment should benefit van de Beek in the short-term at least and breathe new life into his Premier League career. He has long deserved that opportunity and few would be outspoken enough to begrudge him that. It might even prove to be a double-pronged masterstroke.
READ MORE: Three players would benefit from Erik ten Hag appointment
The search for a new midfielder will take centre stage from the moment United make their managerial decision. At least one recruit will come through the doors, but even an almost-certain departure for Paul Pogba has some scope to be dealt with in-house by van de Beek. That decision is for another day.
"It seems our paths have crossed again. One of ours is joining you this season. And like so many players before him, he's been with us since he was just a little boy. The team he was part of showed the world who we are and what Ajax stand for. Like you, we pride ourselves on being one of the best at developing talent and giving young players a shot at the highest level. You could say your new star is the embodiment of that pride."
Rewind to September 2020 and the above is part of an open letter penned by Edwin van der Sar to United fans as van de Beek made the move from Ajax to Old Trafford. You might expect the iconic Dutchman - who works as CEO at the Amsterdam giants - to dust off his typewriter once again this summer.
As requested, supporters took good care of Donny. As things stand, though, three United managers have not.
Having watched their Premier League title dreams descend into tatters by the November break - and no chance of a supplementary trophy - this summer marks a crossroads behind the scenes at Old Trafford. Appointing Ten Hag or one of the (several) other candidates is the most important step there.
With that comes an understanding. Success as a result of fresh thinking and processes will take time. It has been a long, long wait for United as they continue to target the next Sir Alex Ferguson. Put simply, though, there will never be another Sir Alex and match-goers recognise that.
Supporters will already know to heed van der Sar's advice when it comes to ten Hag. However, those upstairs must also take note, this time, if they are to finally bridge the ever-increasing gap between themselves and those right at the very summit including neighbours Manchester City.
Having worked under Pep Guardiola, Ten Hag will no doubt come highly recommended by van de Sar, too. His work in Amsterdam embodies everything van der Sar underlined in his previous message and that is the very structure he must be allowed to install at Old Trafford.
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