Manchester United defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah has completed a permanent transfer to German outfit Bayer Leverkusen for an undisclosed fee.
As confirmed by the club’s official website, Manchester United’s versatile defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah has brought an end to his time at Old Trafford, sealing a transfer to Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen in the ongoing transfer window.
The 23-year-old arrived at Manchester United from Dutch heavyweights AFC Ajax in 2014. Under fellow Dutchman Louis van Gaal, the versatile defender made his first-team debut in February 2016 but was never quite able to kick on from there and nail down a spot for himself at the club.
Fosu-Mensah spent the 2017/18 and 2018/19 campaigns away on loan at Crystal Palace and Fulham respectively. Having been back at the club for the 2019/20 season, the Netherlands international spent the majority of it out on the sidelines recovering from a long-term injury.
Post the lockdown, Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed him a handful of opportunities. And when Diogo Dalot was sent out on loan last summer, it seemed like Fosu-Mensah would be Aaron Wan-Bissaks’s understudy for the right-back slot.
? TRANSFER NEWS ?
Timothy Fosu-Mensah has joined Bayer 04 from Manchester United.
Welcome to the Werkself, Timothy! pic.twitter.com/L8amR13jxJ
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) January 13, 2021
However, that was not the case as Solskjaer utilised the likes of Axel Tuanzebe, Brandon Williams and even Victor Lindelof ahead of him when Wan-Bissaka was being rested or unavailable. With Fosu-Mensah being in the final year of his contract with Manchester United, the club made an attempt to secure his future with a new long-term deal.
But, the 23-year-old rejected the 20-time English champions’ offer of a new deal. And now, he has sealed a transfer to Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen, whose interest in the Dutchman came to light only last week.
Fosu-Mensah leaves Manchester United having made just 30 first-team appearances, only three of which came in the ongoing campaign. While the update from the club does not reveal the transfer fee, Goal.com has claimed that the German outfit has paid a nominal £1.5 million to Manchester United for his signing.
“This is a step into a really interesting, very strong league in which Bayer have been one of the best teams for years,” Fosu-Mensah told Leverkusen’s official website upon completing the transfer. The Dutchman has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the German heavyweights.
With him gone and promising youngster Ethan Laird also leaving on loan, it will be interesting to see whether Solskjaer continues deploying Tuanzebe at right-back as cover for Wan-Bissaka, considering that Brandon Williams has also been heavily linked with a loan exit.
