Transfer Talk: Do we need van de Beek?

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by WarrenMenezes

by WarrenMenezes

16/6/2020

I do not want to jump to any conclusions and therefore will wait a few days before reporting any transfer rumor. Last week, Manchester United were rumored to pursue the signing of Ajax maestro, Donny van de Beek. Ajax are open to selling the 23 year old midfielder and will demand a fee of at least £40-45 million.

Former United keeper and current Ajax CEO, Edwin van der Sar confirmed that United and Real Madrid were interested in signing van de Beek. This statement sent United fans in a frenzy and some of them were suggesting how we’d play Bruno, Pogba and van de Beek together next season. Some tabloids also suggested that we’d have to sell someone (most likely, Andreas Pereira) to raise funds. I’ve got my doubts about the pursuit of VDB and will explain why we should be prioritising a defensive midfielder later in the article.

The Red Devils appear to be front-runners for VDB’s signature as it was reported that Real Madrid are hesitating to sign him. What’s funny is that Bleacher Report had stated in January that the Ajax star was set to move to the Bernabeu at the end of next season. I think Madrid’s current stance on VDB is understandable due the financial implications caused by the pandemic and could shift their focus to other targets.

Ajax’s Champions League matches are the only games where I’ve watched the Dutchman perform. I watched several of his videos on YouTube and read a couple of his performance based reports and boy I was impressed! I’m aware that these YouTube videos are just clips of their best bits and it could be misleading. Let’s not forget Southampton’s Mario Lemina had posted a video of his skills on twitter when linked with a move to United and Arsenal. What I’ve gathered after watching videos, those blistering 18/19 CL matches and a few articles is that VDB is genuinely a good baller, but you guys already knew that!

Donny van de Beek Eredivisie stats from Statman Dave:
82% Pass Accuracy
77 Tackles + Interceptions
44 Shots (Penalty Area)
41 Chances Created
8 Goals + 5 Assists
0.6 G/A (p90)

Frank de Boer had stated that VDB’s best at no.6 while Mauricio Pochettino was really impressed and praised VDB for his role at the club when Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt were getting all the plaudits. The Dutchman can play anywhere in the middle at CAM, CM or CDM. He’s got great ball control, excellent vision and one of the best at picking short passes. Van de Beek is also good at finding spaces, linking up with the attackers and also making dangerous runs into the box. He’s good at finishing too, bagging 8 goals in the Eredivisie this season in 22 games. The 23 year old is also effective without the ball with his intelligent movement and ability to distract the opposition. At 6 ft, VDB has got a strong physical presence and averaged 2 tackles per game which is quite similar to Fred and McTominay this season. Last season, Donny van de Beek made it to the 30 man short-list for the Ballon D’or. But with Bruno and Pogba already in the squad, the question that irks me the most is that do we really NEED him?

And here’s where I suggest that if we’re going to continue to doubt Fred, McTominay and Matic, with one lacking the physicality, the other being dubbed as a squad player at best and the Serbian not getting any younger… Why not sign Thomas Partey? Atletico Madrid are more likely to keep a clean sheet every time the Ghanaian features and he has also played quite a commanding role this season for the Roji Blancos. He will provide a good base for Bruno and Pogba to unleash hell on our oppositions while also act as a cover for Lindelöf who isn’t the best at aerial duels.

As for the other targets linked to United, it appears that Jude Bellingham is likely to join Borussia Dortmund as his father thinks that he’ll get more playing time for the German outfit. I can’t disagree with him, at United, the 16 year old would be instantly tossed into a pressure cooker while he would be in a much relaxed environment at Dortmund.

Next is Ansu Fati, the young Barcelona prodigy and heir to Messi. It was reported by Sport that United had a £110 million bid turned down by Barca (At the time of writing this article, Sport and Metro have reported that United have made a fresh offer of £135 million!). I think that this is an absolutely ridiculous report. Why would United spend so much on 17 year old? I highly doubt we’d want to rely on a kid to win us the Premier League. I know that he’s highly but I don’t understand how it makes sense.

And finally we have Corentin Tolisso from Bayern Munich. It was reported that United were interested in signing him for a fee in the region of £40 million. Former Man Utd right-back further fuelled rumours by tweeting “One of the best midfielders I’ve played with, I think he’ll be perfect for Manchester United. Hope he goes there”. The 25 year French midfielder has been struggling for game time. There are better players than him out there and I believe our wish-list of Grealish, Havertz and Van de Beek is pretty solid.