Manchester United have an excellent record against ‘Big Six’. Recently they managed to defeat Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City in space of just three days. The Red Devils have struggled against smaller sides, failing to breakdown the compact defences. Manchester United’s situation is such that they are desperate to bring in a creative midfielder at the no. 10 position, who can help penetrate the bus. Donny van de Beek may just be the solution for this case. The Dutch International is just 22 and is already on the radar of some big European Clubs.
With Paul Pogba leaving in the summer United will invest in midfielder department, united look to secure the services of yet another Ajax academy product. Despite that, they face competition from north London side Tottenham. Jose Mourinho looks to strengthen the squad as Spurs hope to add some silverware.
Can Van de Beek perform on the bigger stage?
Van de Beek has already played in Champions League semi-final, that was last season where Ajax were knocked out by Tottenham. He scored in semi-final taking his overall tally to three goals in Champions League last season. Unfortunately, Dutch giants were knocked out of Champions League this season following a defeat at the hands of Valencia. He featured in five games this season, scored a couple of goals and provided an assist to his team.
Having a look at his performance in Eredivisie last season he netted nine times and assisted ten times which proves his quality in playmaking. This season he may well best his previous season stats as he has five goals and four assists to his name.
If Tottenham seal the deal for Van de Beek –
Christian Eriksen looks unhappy at Spurs and finds difficult to find a starting place under Jose. It looks like Eriksen will find a new club in the summer and this will boost the Van de Beek deal as a potential replacement. Spurs play with a 4-2-3-1 formation; the Dutch International could play as a no. 10 or could be slotted in a two-man midfield. The player is valued at €52m and Jose Mourinho may well convince Daniel Levy.
With both teams eager to sign him, we could have a long-lasting transfer saga on our hands. It will be interesting to see which club he decides to actually join then, with both managers looking to sign new quality players.
What happens if Manchester United’s hierarchy can sign the Dutch outfit?
Regardless of Pogba’s situation, Manchester United must sign a midfielder to increase depth in the squad as well as increasing the creative side in the team. United also play with 4-2-3-1 similar to Tottenham’s. Donny van de Beek can easily get into United’s squad, with the no. 10 position vacant there won’t be any issue with playing time.
Currently, Andreas Pereira, Juan Mata or Jesse Lingard are slotted in that position from time-to-time. No one provides that level of creativity that an attacking midfielder should possess, due to which the Manchester-based side are looking for more options. With that being said, it will be interesting to see what happens next.
