Manchester United are close to reaching an agreement for Donny van de Beek, who almost joined Real Madrid before the coronavirus pandemic
Tuesday 1 September 2020 06:31, UK
Donny van de Beek is a man in demand. Manchester United are close to reaching an agreement to sign the midfielder and other top clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona have been linked with him. But why is he garnering so much attention?
Manchester United have scouted Van de Beek extensively, with the player left out of Ajax's squad for the Dutch champions' friendly with Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday amid rumours of an imminent move away.
Van de Beek was close to joining Real Madrid prior to the coronavirus pandemic but he did not complete a medical or sign an agreement with the club.
Now he looks set for Old Trafford - but just what makes Van de Beek so special?
Van de Beek has spent his career so far with Ajax, joining their youth academy in August 2014. He rose through the ranks and also featured for Jong Ajax - the club's reserve team - before making his first-team debut in November 2015 during a Europa League encounter with Celtic.
He became a first-team regular the following season while still a teenager, with rumours of potential moves to Tottenham, Roma, Barcelona and Bayern Munich early in his senior career.
Van de Beek truly burst onto the European scene as part of the electrifying Ajax side that reached the Champions League semi-finals last season. He was one of their standout young stars alongside Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong - now at Juventus and Barca respectively.
He scored three goals on Ajax's incredible run to the last four, including the only goal of the game against Tottenham in the first leg of their semi-final tie. He scored a further nine in the Eredivisie as Ajax won their first league title in five years with 10 assists.
Van de Beek continued his Champions League scoring streak in London with a goal against Chelsea in a dramatic 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge in November, but Ajax just missed out on a last-16 place. They subsequently dropped into the Europa League, where they were knocked out by Getafe in the last 32.
Although the Eredivisie season was voided due to the coronavirus pandemic, Van de Beek was on his way to matching - or surpassing - his league goal tally from last season, scoring eight times with six assists in 23 appearances, missing only two games due to a hamstring injury early in the campaign.
With incredible versatility, Van de Beek can operate in a central or attacking role and has been described as the classic box-to-box midfielder.
The 23-year-old has the ability to play anywhere across the middle - a trait that will only increase his value - and as well as being that vital link between defence and attack, he is more offensively minded than other central midfield players. He has developed that special talent of making late runs into the area to latch onto forward passes, catching out even the most astute of defenders.
But he is also not afraid of sitting deep and doing the hard work when he needs to. According to WhoScored.com, Van de Beek makes an average of two tackles per game in the Eredivisie - the fourth highest in the Ajax squad - and can help out in a more defensive role when needed.
Even fellow countryman and former Ajax assistant manager Dennis Bergkamp had him pegged as a special talent at a young age. In quotes carried by the Daily Mail, Frank de Boer, who Bergkamp worked under at the club, recalled: "Dennis started talking enthusiastically about a talent in his youth team. It was a boy who reminded Dennis of himself at that age. That was the signal for me to keep an eye on that guy. That was Donny."
In May, Ajax chief executive Edwin van der Sar confirmed the midfielder would be allowed to leave, but only for a suitable fee, with Sky Sports News' chief reporter Bryan Swanson reporting all the way back in January that Van de Beek would consider a move to the Premier League.
And writing in his Insider column in April, Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol described Van de Beek as a perfect fit for the Premier League, saying: "It would be great to see Van de Beek playing in the Premier League next season. His Ajax contract runs out in two years and they are prepared to sell this summer.
"Last year, we made verbal agreements with [Andre] Onana, [Nicolas] Tagliafico and Van de Beek to stay another season, and then we look to help each other and find the next step in their careers. Nothing has changed. There won't be a 50 per cent discount. The clubs can forget about that."
"Van de Beek is perfectly suited to English football. He can also sit deep and he showcased his talents when he played in England in the Champions League against Chelsea and Tottenham in the past 12 months.
"Manchester United have been long-term admirers. Seeing him play alongside Bruno Fernandes would be a dream come true for United fans."
Manchester United look set to now land their man, but there will be stiff competition for places, with Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Fred and Scott McTominay fighting for game time. Pogba would likely be his midfield partner should he stay at the club - and stay fit - and for all of Van de Beek's talent, he is unlikely to oust the impressive Bruno Fernandes in the No 10 role.
However, Van de Beek would easily slot into that role in front of the defence of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's favoured 4-2-3-1 formation.
Van de Beek and his camp are giving little away. The player himself recently told Fox Sports Netherlands: "It is very messy, in any case a very messy period in terms of transfers. Nothing is certain yet. I am still a player of Ajax and I am still proud to be there... if I also play at Ajax next season, I still have a lot of fun. You won't hear me complaining."
But after watching Chelsea splash the cash, and being thwarted so far in their pursuit of Jadon Sancho, Manchester United look set to make their first breakthrough this window.
