“ He was perfect for the system at Ajax, but I do n’t think United and Donny are a effective fit, ” ex-Netherlands midfielder Rafael vanguard five hundred Vaart told ESPN. – O’Hanlon: A new manager won’t fix Man United (E+)
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– Dawson: Why Solskjaer’s United tenure fell apart Those who know Van de Beek are diamond that this churning spell will not throw him off his rhythm but could alternatively motivate him to take his game to the adjacent level. After all, he is, at his core, even the lapp bright player who helped inspire Ajax to their Champions League run in 2019, the player who scored against Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur and was then pursued by Real Madrid, alone to ultimately sign for United. But for whatever reason, it ‘s been an anxious marriage. To date he has made just four Premier League starts across closely a season and a half, and has managed fair 61 minutes in the top flight this term. It could be that Solskjaer ‘s die will give Van de Beek another luck to prove himself at Old Trafford. He scored the final goal of Solskjaer ‘s tenure in their 4-1 frustration at Watford and played an hour under Carrick in the 2-0 succeed at Villarreal on Tuesday that guaranteed advancement in the Champions League. regularly ignored by Solskjaer, the Norwegian ‘s dismissal can only be thoroughly news for Van de Beek. United have successfully hired an interim director, Ralf Rangnick, to take the team until the summer before making a permanent appointment in the summer. Van de Beek can only hope the new men, whoever they are, are keen to offer every actor a clean slate. Over the naturally of the past nine months, ESPN has spoken to staff at Manchester United, Dutch football experts, former internationals and other sources in the bet on. This is the story behind the curious shell of Van de Beek and whether his prospects will improve at United, or it ‘s meter to leave .
What United saw in Van de Beek
dutch players have covered every column inch of the sliding scale of success to failure at United. For every achiever floor like Jaap Stam, Robin van Persie, Ruud van Nistelrooy or Edwin Van five hundred Sar, there have besides been those who never settled, like Memphis Depay or Alexander Buttner. Van de Beek became the 12th Dutch player to sign for United in September 2020 when they paid Ajax £35m for the probability to sign him. Solskjaer said the transfer strengthened “ the depth of endowment ” in midfield, with Van de Beek ‘s “ ability to see space, meter his movements and read of the game ” some of the keystone attributes that led to United signing him. Yet earlier that summer, United were convinced Van de Beek was real Madrid -bound. They had followed him closely for the best depart of a class, and when they heard Madrid had ended their interest in the Dutch international, they moved quickly. Sources told ESPN that United were pleased with how easy it was to deal with Van de Beek and his cortege : Negotiations were painless, and Solskjaer, having spoken to the midfielder on the earphone, was pleased with Van de Beek ‘s manner. – ESPN+ viewers’ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more
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– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access With Paul Pogba ‘s future changeable ( his sign expires in 2022 ) and Solskjaer still not convinced by Fred, United saw Van de Beek as player who could offer an option as a No. 10, 8 or 6 in their midfield. But in the summer of 2020 that besides saw United chasing Jadon Sancho, a new centre-back and a holding midfielder, the Van de Beek sign was a surprise option. He was n’t a “ must-have, ” but alternatively a luxury player who would bring add class to a pack function of the squad. The early stages were promising as Van de Beek endeared himself early to the fans both on and off the field. A mail on Instagram showed he had a new pool table in his Manchester home, complete with United badge emblazoned on the feel. He scored on his Premier League debut off the bench in United ‘s 2020-21 season-opening frustration to Crystal Palace on Sept. 19, but it proved to be a assumed startle, and United fans were limited to sporadic glimpses of their new midfielder. Sources told ESPN that people within the club in those early months were drawing comparisons between Van de Beek ‘s initiation to United and how Henrikh Mkhitaryan fared in the early on stages of 2016-17 after completing his move from Borussia Dortmund. United felt Van de Beek would find the pace of the Champions League more conversant, preferably than the workload and saturation of the Premier League. It ‘s something ex-Tottenham and Netherlands midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart can relate to, when he made the switch over to the Premier League from Real Madrid in 2010. “ I found the pace of the game was much quicker as you never had a break, ” Van der Vaart told ESPN in July. “ [ In other leagues ] you ‘d take your time over a throw-in, or free-kick, but in England, everyone expects you to continue, continue. That was the hardest thing, but though the bet on was promptly, there was a set of quad to play in between the lines, and as a No. 10 that was great. ” playing period 0:56
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Adaptation takes time, but how much time?
As it became apparent that Van de Beek would have to bide his time at United, sources told ESPN there was already pastime shown in him from clubs looking to pick up a potentially disgruntled, ill-suited musician for a dismiss fee. When the transfer window reopened in January 2021, Solskjaer said he had explained to the musician why he was being used meagerly, and reiterated that the player had a long future at United. While Van de Beek kept working heavily, others spoke and ruminated on his behalf as transfer rumor swirled. Ajax legend Sjaak Swart said he would not have stand for being used for four minutes here and there, leaving Van de Beek ‘s then-agent Guido Albers to insist his customer was felicitous at United. Van five hundred Sar, the Ajax CEO and former Man United goalkeeper, besides said in January he could understand why Van De Beek was struggling for game clock time with the midfield logjam of Pogba, Scott McTominay, Fred, Nemanja Matic and the talismanic Bruno Fernandes. Others were less diplomatic. legendary dutch striker Marco van Basten said the 2020-21 temper had been “ shocking “ for Van de Beek ‘s rhythm and that he “ should n’t have joined United. ” Frans Hoek, who served as goalkeeping coach at United under Louis van Gaal, compared Van de Beek ‘s situation to Depay ‘s doomed spell at the club after moving from PSV and the Eredivisie to United, saying that like Depay, he “ needed time to adapt. ”
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“ Donny has played well the times he got the chance. I think we are besides agile sometimes to jump on ‘oh, he ‘s not play, it ‘s a failure, ‘ ” Solskjaer said in January. “ But with Victor Lindelof and Fred as examples, it takes a little bit of time and now they are massively important players in our team and in our team, which will be the lapp with Donny. He will grow more and more for future year. ” A muscle injury kept Van de Beek out of action at the start of February and he would make fair two starts, playing 262 minutes in the Premier League through the remainder of the 2020-21 season. He was shifted around the team in both the Europa League and FA Cup, excessively, even starting on the left against Roma in the semifinal second leg against Roma. “ Come on : If there ‘s one matter he is n’t, it ‘s a collectivist, ” Ronald de Boer told ESPN in June. “ He does n’t have the rush or creativity for that : He ‘s a team musician and needs to be in the middle of the ballpark. That ‘s something the coach should know. ” By the time of the Europa League final, Solskjaer ‘s trust in Van de Beek appeared to be reduced, as he was kept on the bench despite United ‘s inability to break through against Villarreal. Van de Beek cut a hermit figure postmatch as United picked through the bones of their halfhearted kill on penalties. “ It was a very sad, ” Ronald de Boer said. One source told ESPN that the view of Van de Beek reminded them of how unhappy and isolated Jesse Lingard looked after their semifinal get the better of to Sevilla the previous season.
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stopping point summer ‘s Euros were seen as a “ lineage in the sand ” here and now for Van de Beek, a prospect to reset. He made the master 26-man team under then-manager Frank de Boer, with Van der Vaart saying at the fourth dimension : “ He was lucky to be nominated. There ‘s so much rival in that put. ” But then came an ill-timed groin injury, and Van de Beek was ruled out of the contest. After farther restricted game time at the start of the 2021-22 temper — he did n’t play a first-team plot until a six-minute cameo at the end of United ‘s 4-1 gain vs. Newcastle on Sept. 11 — Everton came near to securing him on transfer deadline day, sources told ESPN, alone for Solskjaer to block the affect. Five days subsequently, Van de Beek spoke to ex-Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand on his FIVE podcast. “ I speak with the director about it and the club, ” Van de Beek said. “ They were clear they wanted me to stay here. The coach was actually positive about me and he said, ‘I need you and I want to keep you here. ‘ “ Of course, what I see here now in the beginning of the season is difficult, because I did n’t play one hour, but he said, ‘What I see every day in training, I see a different Donny now. ‘ He was actually positive about me and I ‘m feeling good. He sees a big dispute, that I ‘m a little piece stronger now. He can see that I now have one year experience here in England. If he sees me now and in the beginning, he sees a adult difference. ”After sporadic appearances in all competitions this season, Van de Beek scored within five minutes of coming on against Watford on Nov. 20. United would lose 4-1 that day, which prompted Solskjaer’s exit. Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images Van de Beek was asked on the podcast whether he could trust Solskjaer with the hope of more first-team football. “ I just need to work difficult and I hope I can show the people, one day, what I can do, ” he said. “ You can never promise [ bet on time ]. This is football, and I think you can never promise a player if he will play or not. You can train every day hard, but in the end you need plot clock time to show your best shape. If you play once in a calendar month, you can not show your best. ” equitable 23 days late, he was throwing his chew gum down from the raised bench at Old Trafford and having to be calmed by his teammates as he remained unused against Villarreal. The rare loss of composure from Van de Beek was unlike him, yet Solskjaer was typically diplomatic about the prove of frustration. “ He knows he is not frozen out, ” Solskjaer said. “ It ‘s Man United and when a headline musician is not playing for Man United, it is always going to make headlines. I ‘ve got batch of them every workweek that do n’t play, so I do n’t have any issues with Donny ; he knows what he needs to work on, what we want him to work on. He is diligent in his ferment and he has never ever let his climate affect his team and teammates negatively. “ You have to have that fire in your belly if you ‘re going to make it. ”
‘Perhaps they didn’t think clearly about what sort of player they were getting’
Despite United insist he had n’t been “ freeze out, ” Van de Beek was left out of Louis Van Gaal ‘s inaugural Netherlands squad in September. “ I called Donny avant-garde de Beek yesterday, ” Van Gaal said in August. “ I told him that he needs to start playing games. ” He has n’t featured for the national team since . play 0:42
Michallik: Manchester United played like a small team vs. Chelsea
Janusz Michallik is critical of Manchester United despite their 1-1 draw away at Chelsea. It ‘s been a bemusing 16 months for those who know him so well in the Netherlands. ESPN spoke to a copulate of sources near to Ajax, and they ‘ve been surprised at how little Van de Beek has played but are n’t concerned about him. “ His attitude, even after that first base season, will still be outstanding. He ‘s mentally firm, and wo n’t be doubting his own ability, ” said one source. Ronald de Boer, who made 304 appearances for Ajax, coached Van de Beek in the Ajax under-17s and says Van de Beek is a “ sedate boy … he does n’t get crazy if things happen, he ‘s a actor who wo n’t give up. ” One hypothesis is United have n’t however figured out what Van de Beek ‘s best position is, having seen him predominantly as a No. 10 for Ajax during the 2018-19 temper, and then a No. 8 behind Hakim Ziyech in 2019-20. “ He can be a very good asset. I think he can play the character of being the more assaultive actor in a two-man midfield, like [ Thomas ] Tuchel uses at Chelsea, or if they have one sitting midfielder, he can push ahead, ” Ronald de Boer said in June. “ He makes the runs in behind the striker and scores goals. He knows the right moments to arrive in the 18-yard-box and can finish. “ Donny is like Davy Klaassen, like Jari Litmanen — he needs the team around him that can help deliver him. He ‘s not a player like Bruno Fernandes, a technical player who can create something out of nothing tied if those around him are playing ailing — no, Donny is a team musician. And that ‘s a risk. “ When you go from Ajax for a bunch of money, people think he can do miracles. He can do miracles with the team — he ‘ll make the runs, do the work defensively, one-touch player, he ‘s a real team player. And they have to realise that Donny is depending on the team to help him. possibly they did n’t think clearly about what kind of actor they were getting. ” looseness 1:10
Burley: Man United made good decision with Rangnick
Craig Burley is thrilled Manchester United has reached an agreement with Ralf Rangnick to become interim director. Sources have told ESPN that Solskjaer was always worried about Van de Beek ‘s defensive discipline and it was telling that against Villarreal, Carrick had to drop Bruno Fernandes to make room in the midfield. According to sources, United are looking to hire a more technical coach to replace Solskjaer — both in the short and long term — which should offer Van de Beek more opportunities, but there are no guarantees. Van de Beek ‘s future will probable be a hot topic running into the January transportation window. In late October he changed agents — moving from Albers to Ali Dursun, who besides looks after Frenkie de Jong and Lindelof, potentially with an center on moving on in January. His preference is to succeed at Old Trafford and his plans for January will depend heavily on whether things change now that Solskjaer is gone.
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early Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince said he should move in January, while Ferdinand thinks Van de Beek may be “ besides nice ” and that his politeness has led him to not getting the “ situation you require for yourself. ” With the modern money at Newcastle and other teams looking to reinforce their ranks, Van de Beek will be an attractive target with Everton and Wolves linked. The longer he stays in the wilderness, the more likely it is that his stay at United will be marked down as an ill-fitting marriage. “ As cipher will leave, [ Donny ] needs a snatch of luck to get into the starting 11, ” Van der Vaart says. “ He ‘s besides dependable a player to play two seasons on the judiciary. For me, he needs playing minutes and needs them fast. He ‘s young, but time flies. When you come with high expectations — it must be very hard for him. A club like Borussia Dortmund was the perfect following step in his career. A clubhouse like Manchester United ? possibly the step was excessively big for him. ”