[sullydnl]

The less he plays the better he gets.

If he's not that good then sell him. Sounds like he'd be happy to go.

The problem isn't us not playing him. It's us buying him, not playing him and not selling him for a replacement.

But given we did buy him and haven't sold him, the expectation should be that we actually give him some game time.

It's not like it's been particularly hard to get on the pitch for us so far this season. A past-it Matic managed it, an unfit Martial managed it, a could-have-been-sold Lingard managed it and a has-actually-been-sold James managed it. And in two of the three games we were actually struggling in midfield.

 

[Shane88]

Selfishly I'd like him to stay because there will be injuries at some point (or Solskjaer will finally show sense and drop Fred) but I understand why he wants out of here. World Cup year and he's gonna play feck all.


What a disastrous signing.

 

[smi11ie]

I don't blame his agent for speaking out. Donny has lost his place in the national team. He has never had a run of games. Seems cruel to keep him.

 

[DannyDee]

I feel he's eyed as a Pogba replacement, but we haven't got that new DM either which allows for the single pivot 3 man midfield. Which is why Pogba doesn't have an ideal role, and we can't find minutes for Donny.

 

[Kearnkoff69]

What a bizarre situation. Obviously you have to trust what the coaches see on the training pitch every day, but it's baffling that we spent a not insignificant sum on him last year and he's had no sustained opportunity to make an impression. I'm not stanning for Donny, just confused about this transfer in general. If we aren't going to play him, why not recoup that fee and reinvest in the squad?

 

[ArjenIsM3]

His agent is an idiot for thinking we'd let him go on deadline day without the possibility of getting a replacement

 

[lost7]

The full quotes from the agent are quite a bit different. Sounds like Ole has promised VdB more game time


Donny vd Beek's agent, talking to VI: 'there was a lot of interest from Italy, Germany, England...so that looked good. But you need to cooperation of the club, and it looked like they would, but ultimately they didn't. Disapoint, but also assuring for him.'

'...so that he will get his chance, and will get his minutes, but this will become clear in due time. He's been promised that before, but we came to a clear agreement about this with the club, so we have all faith that it will happen now.'

 

[Adamsk7]

Say what you want about Ole but he definitely comes across as a manager that doesn’t hold grudges and someone that wants to win at all costs so if Donny was really performing better than Fred/Matic/McT in training then I have no doubts he would be playing.
He was really good at Ajax and that’s why we bought him - no mystery there. We were hoping he’d offer us a different option from Bruno at 10 and be a good option in other midfield positions.
Let’s be really honest here, he just hasn’t performed. I don’t blame the club for wanting to keep him to see if he can come good and we are only three games in so again I don’t think we can say yet that he won’t get that chance.
If you read the whole interview with his agent, he says that the club wanting to keep Donny is also assuring for him and that there have been promises he’ll get a good go.

I honestly think this is such a nothing conversation and it boggles my mind why so many people give it so much time. If he performs, he plays. If he doesn’t, then he will be sold. He was bought because of his performances at Ajax which he hasn’t replicated at a big club. It’s very simple

 

[Andersonson]

But isn't that what everyone is doing? As no one knows what the hell is going on with this situation. All guess work and assumptions...

He doesn't play because he isn't rated good enough. That's it. There are way more than 11 players in the team. Many are not regulars. Donny is one of them.

He still has time to come good, but as of now he isn't in contention for a spot. He will get cup games etc to prove the manager wrong

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

Fred profited from Ole coming in and established himself quite quickly under him, while Jose benched him quite often. Donny under Ole wont have the same faith.

Its not like Ole played him as soon as he came in, Ole continued with Matic, Herrera and Pogba during his caretaker period. Then Fred got games the following season once injuries started piling up, formed a partnership with McTominay, ended up on the bench again during the restart once Pogba became available. Its only last season that he firmly established himself.

 

[fergieisold]

Selfishly I'd like him to stay because there will be injuries at some point (or Solskjaer will finally show sense and drop Fred) but I understand why he wants out of here. World Cup year and he's gonna play feck all.


What a disastrous signing.

drop fred? In favour of who?

 

[SER19]

Jesus the revisionism of vdb is incredible. He hasn't been given a fair shot but he's not peak pirlo. Hes underperformed

 

[Highfather_24]

I hope he can establish himself as an proper #8 here. He has all the tools to be a good box to box midfielder. If he can atleast be a rotation/competition option for McT-Fred, that's a win in my book.

 

[Stobzilla]

The full quotes from the agent are quite a bit different. Sounds like Ole has promised VdB more game time


Donny vd Beek's agent, talking to VI: 'there was a lot of interest from Italy, Germany, England...so that looked good. But you need to cooperation of the club, and it looked like they would, but ultimately they didn't. Disapoint, but also assuring for him.'

'...so that he will get his chance, and will get his minutes, but this will become clear in due time. He's been promised that before, but we came to a clear agreement about this with the club, so we have all faith that it will happen now.'

Going to quote this as it completely changes the tone of those quotes from his agent and hopefully it leads to more people seeing it.

 

[El Zoido]

I think he’ll make his way in, it’s a long season. He has to perform though, has to take his chances. Let’s be honest, he hardly did anything of note when he played last season. Even one big game would see him trusted more, when you’re on the fringes you have to take your chances and show what you can offer. I rate him generally but he needs to show more.

 

[Alemar]

If he performs, he plays. If he doesn’t, then he will be sold.

Does it happen often that we sell unferperformers quickly? We usually extend their contracts and increase their wages to protect value

 

[Highfather_24]

I dont understand the Fred hate that has started recently. He was one of our best players in 2019/20, and has been better than Matic and McT(our only other pure CMs) in the last 2 years. He has replaced Fabinho in the Brazil squad, and that says a lot.

Yeah, he aint world class, but he is a valuable squad player, who always gives his 100% and has a valuable skillset.

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

So his agent is running his mouth, ala Raiola. . .

Guess that makes VdB ‘a virus’, get rid.

 

[VanDeBank]

The full quotes from the agent are quite a bit different. Sounds like Ole has promised VdB more game time


Donny vd Beek's agent, talking to VI: 'there was a lot of interest from Italy, Germany, England...so that looked good. But you need to cooperation of the club, and it looked like they would, but ultimately they didn't. Disapoint, but also assuring for him.'

'...so that he will get his chance, and will get his minutes, but this will become clear in due time. He's been promised that before, but we came to a clear agreement about this with the club, so we have all faith that it will happen now.'

Maybe the "assurances" hint at VDB being allowed to go on loan in the winter, or get a transfer, not necessarily in minutes.

So his agent is running his mouth, ala Raiola. . .

Guess that makes VdB ‘a virus’, get rid.

What? He's kept quiet until the last day of the window when all was said and done. Donny has been very professional regarding his situation. All he said was he VDB wants to play, wherever it is and that he believes Ole has a plan and is willing to put his head down and do the work. Very different from the crap Raiola spews...

 

[#07]

Not really. He's not better than Bruno and not defensively sound enough to play instead of Fred or Scott.

It's his job to impress Ole enough to get a start and more importantly when he gets another chance don't be as passive and anonymous as he's been previously.

I want him to do well here, but he's got to force his way into the team. Ole isn't going to let him go last minute of the transfer window without a replacement to allow for injuries.

This is all true.

People are acting like Donny is Edgar Davids or Nigel de Jong.

If the defensive midfielder in your squad is Matic then Van de Beek has a problem. Matic being static needs energy alongside him. That tends to mean Fred. Even Pogba isn't trusted to play alongside Matic these days.

What about McTominay? Well Scot isn't really a defensive midfielder. He's a hard working box to box midfielder. It's not totally natural for him to be the one who sweeps up in midfield. That's why he works well with Fred. They both press the ball but they tend to take it in turns. So one can cover for the other without either having a Carrick or Keane like sense of danger.

If Donny is going to get games either a) he tries to do an Alan Smith and completely reinvent himself as a tackling midfielder or b) hope United replace Matic and Pogba leaves.

 

[Dinghy]

Might be as simple as he's just not as good as we thought he was when we bought him. He's not shown anything yet in a United-shirt that suggests he's any better than Fred and McT.

 

[Litch]

Jesus the revisionism of vdb is incredible. He hasn't been given a fair shot but he's not peak pirlo. Hes underperformed

Reminds me of how some players always look better when they are injured.

 

[Adamsk7]

Does it happen often that we sell unferperformers quickly? We usually extend their contracts and increase their wages to protect value

Well sure but he’s not a Phil Jones or a Lingard. He has a good reputation and wants to play games. That’s what I mean, he’ll either show it and work his way in to the team or him and his agent will kick up a fuss and we’ll sell him.
I think it’s a win win for us - two years is long enough that we’ll know if he’s gonna have a future, but short enough that we probably won’t lose any money if he decides to go.

 

[Tibs]

Should have let him go - the way we are treating him is a disgrace

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Didn't join the Euro due to injury and now it's heading to the direction that he might not even join the World Cup. We could actually let him go for his own sake and going for Saul on loan which seems to be better option for us too.

 

[JJ12]

So his agent is running his mouth, ala Raiola. . .

Guess that makes VdB ‘a virus’, get rid.

Not even close to Raiola.

Donny isn’t playing and just lost his place in the national team ffs.

 

[laughtersassassin]

I feel he's eyed as a Pogba replacement, but we haven't got that new DM either which allows for the single pivot 3 man midfield. Which is why Pogba doesn't have an ideal role, and we can't find minutes for Donny.

How can someone replace Pogba when he can't get in the team when Pogba isn't even fit.

No offence to the lad but VDB isn't fit to replace Pogba.

Would be daft to think he could

 

[Litch]

Liverpool, Chelsea and City buy players and you don't see them for a season, Donny will have to take his opportunity if it arrives. His biggest problem isn't Scott or Fred, it's Bruno. I actually think that's his best position but there's zero chance of that happening.

 

[Oldyella]

His agent is an idiot for thinking we'd let him go on deadline day without the possibility of getting a replacement

What are we replacing? A bench warmer. Let a kid take his spot.

 

[horsechoker]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

fecking Ole

 

[Red Royal]

Should have let him go - the way we are treating him is a disgrace

How is it a disgrace??
He needs to seize whatever opportunities he gets. Fred was the same and had a slow start and came good (I know last 2 games have been poor).
Every game vdb has started he has not done much of note.

 

[onetwo3oclock4oclockrock]

A bit surprised that Donny played as much as 1456 minutes ( would equal 16 full matches) for us last season. Thought it would be a lot less.

 

[Thiagoal]

It’s an odd situation. Clearly Ole has VDB down as an important player or he’d surely have cashed in and got our money back, yet he is not giving him opportunities. It’s really unfair for any of us fans to judge him on such a small sample size- playing the odd game every three weeks is hopeless for a professional footballer to show his true worth. Either give him an extended run (like Fred got) or let him go. Seems like he’s a player that needs to get into a groove before showing his true capabilities

 

[lex talionis]

The truth is rarely ever admittedly publicly. All we have is speculation as to why United brought in Van de Beek.

The likeliest explanation is that Donny was brought in to succeed Pogba, who was planned for a sale, but Pogba is still here.

I’m a fan of Donny, but he’s simply nowhere close to the quality of Pogba and Bruno. He’s not getting any serious game time while those two are still at OT.

 

[Dinghy]

Should have let him go - the way we are treating him is a disgrace

Heh. He's only been here a year, he's on massive wages after we paid a huge fee for him and he's been underperforming almost every single time he's been on the pitch for us. He might still come good, but we owe him feck all.

 

[MattofManchester]

How is it a disgrace??
He needs to seize whatever opportunities he gets. Fred was the same and had a slow start and came good (I know last 2 games have been poor).
Every game vdb has started he has not done much of note.

What opportunities?

Are you expecting him to do wonders when Ole gives him 5 minutes of game time at a time? He did well in the friendly. Ole's words were "Matic did well in pre-season". By that account, VDB should get a go as well given he did well in the game he played, but I'm not sure what is going on here.

Given our shortage of quality "central" midfielders, yet Ole continues not to select him. Why are we destroying his career if he's not welcome here? It's ridiculous. He wouldn't be short of buyers either, I imagine.

It amazes me that the likes of Matic, Lingard and Martial continue to be selected and perform poorly but this kid is benched. Think about that for a second. Martial has been absolute dross for the last season, Matic is past-it, and Lingard had a good run but is nowhere near the required standard. Different positions, but these guys are getting play time in positions that are stacked. The fact we put Lingard on to win a game against Southampton was fecking absurd.

 

[Bebestation]

It’s an odd situation. Clearly Ole has VDB down as an important player or he’d surely have cashed in and got our money back, yet he is not giving him opportunities. It’s really unfair for any of us fans to judge him on such a small sample size- playing the odd game every three weeks is hopeless for a professional footballer to show his true worth. Either give him an extended run (like Fred got) or let him go. Seems like he’s a player that needs to get into a groove before showing his true capabilities

The thing is that Fred and Pogba as a midfield two has hardly been played itself.

It shows that a player like Pogba needed someone like Matic as was shown in Ole's first season aswell. VDB probably needs a Same sort midfielder to allow him to play either as a CM or even further up as a CAM. Say that Ole did want Rice as his Matic alternative then VDB would probably be used like this :

VDB- RICE
Bruno

Or

Rice.
Bruno- -Pogba
VDB

​

 

[McGrathsipan]

His agent is an idiot for thinking we'd let him go on deadline day without the possibility of getting a replacement

fecking replacement what?

He's not playing any part in the team.
The club should have let him go.

 

[HailtotheKing]

Say what you want about Ole but he definitely comes across as a manager that doesn’t hold grudges and someone that wants to win at all costs so if Donny was really performing better than Fred/Matic/McT in training then I have no doubts he would be playing.
He was really good at Ajax and that’s why we bought him - no mystery there. We were hoping he’d offer us a different option from Bruno at 10 and be a good option in other midfield positions.
Let’s be really honest here, he just hasn’t performed. I don’t blame the club for wanting to keep him to see if he can come good and we are only three games in so again I don’t think we can say yet that he won’t get that chance.
If you read the whole interview with his agent, he says that the club wanting to keep Donny is also assuring for him and that there have been promises he’ll get a good go.

I honestly think this is such a nothing conversation and it boggles my mind why so many people give it so much time. If he performs, he plays. If he doesn’t, then he will be sold. He was bought because of his performances at Ajax which he hasn’t replicated at a big club. It’s very simple

Except that he has performed. And if anyone says he hasn’t, he certainly hasn’t performed as badly as Mctominay and Fred have on multiple occasions. That’s why he should have got chances but hasn’t. And it appears Ole absolutely has favorites.

 

[VanDeBank]

Dutch public broadcasting (NOS) reports Donny had the opportunity to go on loan to Everton, but OGS prevented it.