A weirdly sensible signing for Manchester United
Donny van de Beek is expected to be unveiled as a Manchester United player imminently, having undergone a medical examination on bank holiday Monday.
He will join on a five year contract and Ajax will receive an initial fee of £15.7 million.
The Ajax midfielder was a key part of the team that reached the Champions League in the 2018/19 season, but unlike Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs De Ligt, he stayed put at the Johan Cruyff arena for one more season.
The energetic and versatile midfielder may not get into United’s ‘best XI’ on paper – unless he retrains as a holding midfielder – but will provide something different to Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes. Most importantly, he will provide quality off the bench and in rotation.
Van de Beek popped up with 17 goals across the 18/19 season and 10 goals throughout the severely disrupted 19/20 campaign.
Real Madrid and Barcelona have both shown interest in the 23 year old, but United have won the race for his signature, having maintained strong relations with the Dutch champions through Edwin Van Der Sar, who got the wheels in motion on this move.
