Ex-Hearts player turns bane of Man Utd as he's left 'surprised' by Red Devils after shackling £72m man

He’s formerly of Hearts - but now the ex-Jambos player is turning in impressive performances in Europe against the likes of Manchester United.

The Red Devils have come under fire this season amid another season to forget in the Premier League, but they did book a last 16 berth in the Europa League midweek. They beat Romanian side FCSB 2-0 on the road to secure a top eight spot in the league phase thanks to goals from Kobbie Mainoo and Diego Dalot.

FCSB also progressed as they finished in the top 24 of UEFA’s revamped edition of the Europa League, but they settle for a knockout round play-off spot. In the middle of this battle was a man who had time at Tynecastle between 2020-2022, Mihai Popescu.

The defender joined the Jambos for their Championship tilt in the Covid season behind closed doors, having started his career in his native Romania and shining for St Mirren in Scotland. He joined Hamilton a year after arrival, not able to nail down a permanent place in the Jambos team, before moving back to Romania with Farul Constanța.

His latest club snapped him up in 2024 and Popescu impressed against Rasmus Hoijlund, who United signed for an initial £64m, with £8m in add-ons. The striker didn’t win any aerial duels, less than half of his ground duels and was limited to a couple of shots on target up against Siyabonga Ngezana, Joyskim Dawa and the ex-Hearts man.

Popescu almost had a magical moment in the 10th minute as he was presented a chance to score with the game at 0-0 but it passed him by. He made 24 appearances while at Hearts with a sole goal Popescu said after the game: "A tough match, we met a team with tradition, a great team.

“We learned our lesson. The atmosphere was fantastic but as I said, we learned what we had to learn. It would have been a different game for sure. Misses are part of the game, but I'm glad I was there.

“That I entered a match like that and managed to get off the field healthy. After the break we tried to play the same way, they surprised us, but it was clear that they have valuable players ,"