Former Manchester United starlet Zidan Iqbal has been demoted to the reserves at his current club Utrecht. The former Old Trafford prodigy was sent to Jong FC Utrecht as a disciplinary measure. Iqbal will miss the next Europa League game against Real Betis, but manager Ron Jans has expressed dissatisfaction with the player’s training efforts ahead of the international break.
The 22-year-old made two appearances against the United Arab Emirates, earning his 22nd cap for Iraq and helping the country qualify for the World Cup. The midfielder has featured in five Eredivisie games and two in the Europa League this season. However, according to reports from the Netherlands, Mr. Iqbal was unable to convince Mr. Jans of his commitment.
Iqbal moved from Manchester United to Utrecht in the summer of 2023, with the Dutch side paying a fee of £1 million for his performance.
The Utrecht footballer spent 11 years at United and holds the honor of being the first British South Asian to represent Manchester United. Iqbal had the option of playing for England, Pakistan and Iraq, but ultimately chose the latter.
The Manchester-born talent made his first-team debut under manager Ralf Rangnick in December 2021 in the Champions League against Young Boys. However, Iqbal’s progress hit a roadblock under Erik ten Hag.
The young up-and-comer was once subjected to a brutal verbal abuse from manager Ten Hag, who was caught on camera shouting during training: “Put the ball on the floor… Zidane! Hey! Put the ball down! You bastard!”
Iqbal felt unappreciated by The Hague and sought a move elsewhere.
In an interview with The National newspaper, Iqbal expressed his dissatisfaction, saying, “I wanted to come off the bench for 10 minutes to show myself and I was really frustrated because the manager didn’t seem to value me enough to give me a chance to show if I could sink or swim.”
“I spoke to my dad and my agent and said, ‘I can’t do this for another year.’ From the outside it looked amazing to all my friends because I was training and traveling with United’s first team.”
“But for me it was mentally tough because I was in training and I wasn’t allowed to play with players under 23. I thought to myself, ‘I’m like a number.’
Last season, Iqbal played 18 times for Utrecht, after appearing in 17 Eredivisie games in his debut season with the club.
