Pool through REUTERS/Shaun Botterill
Donny van de Beek was anticipated to affix Actual Madrid after back-to-back stellar Champions League campaigns with Ajax.
Consequently, when Man Utd signed him final summer time forward of the Spanish giants, the deal was seen as an astute coup from the English outfit.
Six months and only one Premier League begin later, many pundits and followers alike are but to determine Van de Beek’s function and the explanation behind his Previous Trafford arrival.
To no one’s shock, the 23-year-old has didn’t threaten Bruno Fernandes’ place behind the frontline. Additional, he’s but to be trusted to guard the backline from midfield, and has been solely deployed in a pivot towards Istanbul Basaksehir within the Champions League.
Former Netherlands supervisor Bert van Marwijk believes the place the place the Ajax academy graduate developed in merely doesn’t exist on the Theatre of Desires.
“The identical place play that made him so robust at Ajax will not be there at Manchester United. There, the areas he’s in search of between midfield and defence of the opposing crew are lacking or his teammates let the second cross by,” Van Marwijk wrote in his column for De Telegraaf.
“His well-timed runs are usually not recognised there. So, that is additionally the issue for him.”
The Dutchman additionally touched upon the shortage of compatibility between Van de Beek and his new teammates, including: “In case your teammates overlook you and the sport will not be aligned with you, additionally, you will want to have the ability to discover your approach.
“Then that good crew participant must assume extra about themselves and now have the technical and tactical qualities to make the distinction on their very own.”
Hakim Ziyech has additionally struggled at his new membership Chelsea, highlighting the problem of getting used to a distinct type of play to that of Ajax’s possession-based soccer.
Will these stars, destined for greatness, absolutely realise their potential on the English sides?
