[Walters_19_MuFc]

People talking about Fred but he only started to perform when given a run in the team.

VdB will never get a run of games as a 10, simply because hes not as good as Bruno.

As a 6/8, he doesnt do it for me. Its clear Ole prefers players who are physically imposing and defensively sound.

Maybe VdB can adapt to the role but I cant see it happening.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

Cant see him being here next season. Ole clearly doesn't fancy him at all.

We should get our money back though as he's clearly a good player but somebody we don't really need unless Bruno is out long term and I doubt he wants to be a sub all his Utd career.

 

[MU655]

I just had a look at his stats as I have never watched him before, nor since, really.

In 2018/19, he got 10 assists but only created 1.2 key passes per game (40.8 key passes over the season). That means a quarter of the chances he created that season ended in a goal, which seems abnormally high compared to the stats of most other players. I would say that was probably a bit of an anomaly.

In comparison, only 12% of Fernandes's chances created have been scored this season and 15% of De Bruyne's chances created have been scored.

De Beek's 19/20 season seemed more realistic with 1.8 chances created per game and only 5 assists. 23 games played, so chances scored was only 12%. I'm not sure whether creativity is a great asset of his, judging by his key passes numbers in whilst in the strongest team in the league. He doesn't seem to have that level of creativity that we need for the attacking midfield role.

He seems to have a high conversion rate, though. 15.4% (17/18) 17.6% (18/19), 18% (19/20). From what I have heard, he seems to score most of his goals from inside the box. It seems he is a good finisher, but lacks a bit in terms of creativity.

 

[horsechoker]

I'm sorry but he's taking away jobs from hard-working British players.

 

[Jaxa]

Am I the only one who is genuinely not worried about his development so far ? For sure a bit concerning he is not getting games and looked rusty when he has played but he is only 23 and overall in his career shown enough to show there is a player there, it's just going to take time for him to integrate properly into the squad, also looking from the outside in he looks to be quite a shy person so probably still a bit homesick and trying to find his feet in Manchester both the place and club,

Excited for Donny next season though, the guy will come good for sure.

 

[Rossa]

I'm sorry but he's taking away jobs from hard-working British players.

We moved him to the capital to keep him closer to the Queen. Talking about Lingard, right?

 

[Brightonian]

Cant see him being here next season. Ole clearly doesn't fancy him at all.

We should get our money back though as he's clearly a good player but somebody we don't really need unless Bruno is out long term and I doubt he wants to be a sub all his Utd career.

We. Bought. Him. To. Strengthen. The. Bench.

If you want to support a title-winning side, you're going to have to get less squeamish about good players warming the bench. Unless you want us to be one Bruno injury away from totally falling apart?

 

[Nou_Camp99]

We. Bought. Him. To. Strengthen. The. Bench.

If you want to support a title-winning side, you're going to have to get less squeamish about good players warming the bench. Unless you want us to be one Bruno injury away from totally falling apart?

Donny isn't going to want to stay being a cheer leader ffs. He's not like Mata who is in the last few years of his career.

If you think he's come here to be a back up and that's it then I think you're mistaken. I will be incredibly shocked if he hasn't already had word with his agent about finding a new club in the summer.

 

[Terranova]

We. Bought. Him. To. Strengthen. The. Bench.

If you want to support a title-winning side, you're going to have to get less squeamish about good players warming the bench. Unless you want us to be one Bruno injury away from totally falling apart?

There's no way he came here for the bench, at least not for the minutes he's gotten now and we still have a big problem if Bruno gets injured because VDB lacks the minutes to actually fit in with the team

 

[Brightonian]

Donny isn't going to want to stay being a cheer leader ffs. He's not like Mata who is in the last few years of his career.

If you think he's come here to be a back up and that's it then I think you're mistaken. I will be incredibly shocked if he hasn't already had word with his agent about finding a new club in the summer.

Of course he didn't come here planning to be on the bench for good. I also doubt he's as naive as you to expect that he was going to waltz into the starting XI within half a season despite sharing a position with our star player. Nor will he give up as quickly as you apparently would.

Both he and Ole will know that after a season or so he'll be much more settled in and will produce better football. Then we'll find out if there's a way for him to force his way into the first team. Maybe Bruno will get an injury at some point and he'll get a run of games to show what he can do. But everyone involved in the situation has significantly more patience than you do.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Donny isn't going to want to stay being a cheer leader ffs. He's not like Mata who is in the last few years of his career.

If you think he's come here to be a back up and that's it then I think you're mistaken. I will be incredibly shocked if he hasn't already had word with his agent about finding a new club in the summer.

There are loads of players at other big clubs who are just as ambitious as him, just as good as him, cost as much as him and also spend most of the season as “cheer leaders”. If they’re all going to be looking for a move as well we might as well let him go because we’ll be spoilt for choice replacing him.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Of course he didn't come here planning to be on the bench for good. I also doubt he's as naive as you to expect that he was going to waltz into the starting XI within half a season despite sharing a position with our star player. Nor will he give up as quickly as you apparently would.

Both he and Ole will know that after a season or so he'll be much more settled in and will produce better football. Then we'll find out if there's a way for him to force his way into the first team. Maybe Bruno will get an injury at some point and he'll get a run of games to show what he can do. But everyone involved in the situation has significantly more patience than you do.

Crazy how nobody seems to be able to think of all the other examples of very good players who struggled to get games in their first season in the PL. Robertson at Liverpool would be an obvious one.

 

[Teja]

I just had a look at his stats as I have never watched him before, nor since, really.

In 2018/19, he got 10 assists but only created 1.2 key passes per game (40.8 key passes over the season). That means a quarter of the chances he created that season ended in a goal, which seems abnormally high compared to the stats of most other players. I would say that was probably a bit of an anomaly.

In comparison, only 12% of Fernandes's chances created have been scored this season and 15% of De Bruyne's chances created have been scored.

De Beek's 19/20 season seemed more realistic with 1.8 chances created per game and only 5 assists. 23 games played, so chances scored was only 12%. I'm not sure whether creativity is a great asset of his, judging by his key passes numbers in whilst in the strongest team in the league. He doesn't seem to have that level of creativity that we need for the attacking midfield role.

He seems to have a high conversion rate, though. 15.4% (17/18) 17.6% (18/19), 18% (19/20). From what I have heard, he seems to score most of his goals from inside the box. It seems he is a good finisher, but lacks a bit in terms of creativity.

Thanks for doing the research! I'm actually surprised because it doesn't even look like he makes a lot of runs in behind. Did he play as a #10 for Ajax behind another striker? Or was he playing some false 9 type role?

 

[Nou_Camp99]

There are loads of players at other big clubs who are just as ambitious as him, just as good as him, cost as much as him and also spend most of the season as “cheer leaders”. If they’re all going to be looking for a move as well we might as well let him go because we’ll be spoilt for choice replacing him.

I'm happy for him to stay and be that player don't get me wrong. What a fantastic back up he is.

I just don't think he will want to be. Just my opinion.

 

[Jacob]

Bland and boring so far

 

[Terranova]

Thanks for doing the research! I'm actually surprised because it doesn't even look like he makes a lot of runs in behind. Did he play as a #10 for Ajax behind another striker? Or was he playing some false 9 type role?

No he was playing at 8. With Tadic in front of him as a false 9. Well 8, he was the forward most midfielder, but not a nr 10.

 

[lex talionis]

I'm happy for him to stay and be that player don't get me wrong. What a fantastic back up he is.

I just don't think he will want to be. Just my opinion.

Pretty much this for me too. It’s hard to imagine Donny being interested in being a long term squad player for United. It’s not as though we plucked him from a pedestrian club like Forest or Derby.

But if he’s ok being fourth or fifth fiddle in midfield for us, what a find Donny is.

 

[Drainy]

Needs to find his confidence and express himself more when he gets game time.

 

[Bebestation]

What's great about VDB is that we have arguably added what Lingard does, what Pereira does,
and partly an aspect of what Mata and TFM do all in one player.

Lingard could make his runs but could never play in midfield. Pereira could make passes but couldn't get forward. We have arguably a player that can play like an AM, SS, CM and in a double pivot as a CDM.

He probably needs to break through time and play consistent games in one position to feel the tempo of the rest of the team.

I really hope he is an Ole signing because it would be good to see him develop here.

 

[Cheimoon]

I'm sorry but he's taking away jobs from hard-working British players.

Exactly, I'm glad he hasn't been able to displace Bruno, Pogba, or Fred. Brexit means Brexit.

 

[RedDevil@84]

Average performances so far. Almost feels like a nothing player. Good for rotation.
But then again, it is just his first season. He has time.

 

[sglowrider]

Watch the Soton match again bur specifically looking at Donnie. He makes continuously makes lots of runs. But somehow his teammates are either slow to see the movement, or he asks for impossible angles or they just aren't keen on passing to him. He is active for sure but rarely got the ball.

 

[Zen86]

Watch the Soton match again bur specifically looking at Donnie. He makes continuously makes lots of runs. But somehow his teammates are either slow to see the movement, or he asks for impossible angles or they just aren't keen on passing to him. He is active for sure but rarely got the ball.

Yeah he's constantly on the move and getting into the box, moving in and out of pockets of space. The squad just aren't used to a player like VdB, I'd expect him to kick on next season after a proper pre-season.

 

[sglowrider]

Yeah he's constantly on the move and getting into the box, moving in and out of pockets of space. The squad just aren't used to a player like VdB, I'd expect him to kick on next season after a proper pre-season.

He must be immensely frustrated. Barely got 5 touches during his 45mins stint. I am surprised Bruno hasn't picked up his movements.

 

[dinostar77]

Hes a good midfielder who has been unlucky with playing time. I cant recall when last we had so few injuries in our midfield during a course of a season. Ole does need to use him more, if anything just to protect Bruno from burnout.

I think it always takes Ajax players alittle time to adjust away from Ajax 433 football which is so deeply ingrained in the club. DVB, is a hard working midfielder with a good pass on him and good vision. Very good movements off the ball and an ability to finish off chances.

He just needs a run of games to get match sharp and some luck. He'll be ok. If it doesnt work out there will be plenty of top teams interested in buying him.

 

[united_99]

I am not worried about his situation at all.
If he is patient and wants to force his way in the starting 11 if Pogba leaves or is happy with a squad role then fine.
If not then we sell him, he is not a player who we have to keep at any cost. He is really not that good. I am not losing any sleep because of him

 

[LovelyLittlePanda]

Donny isn't going to want to stay being a cheer leader ffs. He's not like Mata who is in the last few years of his career.

If you think he's come here to be a back up and that's it then I think you're mistaken. I will be incredibly shocked if he hasn't already had word with his agent about finding a new club in the summer.

VDB will have an extended run when injuries hit. If he shows he's world class, he'll play alongside Bruno or see far more rotation. As it is now, even with the limited game time he's had, he's not shown enough to warrant a change in formation to accommodate him, or to start in McFred's/Pogba's role. We're talking about a player from the Eredivisie here, not someone who's proven himself in a big league or with the national team. One good CL run does not change that.

It's likely that he was bought to strengthen the bench this season. At the same time, I doubt the club would pay 40 million for a player that Ole and the staff believe does not have what it takes to become starting XI material.

He must be immensely frustrated. Barely got 5 touches during his 45mins stint. I am surprised Bruno hasn't picked up his movements.

They've barely featured alongside each other and considering how many games Bruno has played, it's unlikely he trains at a 100% with players from the bench.

 

[Bratone]

I'll never understand why we didn't use the Donny money and put in a little extra (Use Pellistri/Diallo money) to get Grealish last summer. Now Grealish is untouchable and will probably cost at least twice more and we're stuck with a player who's raising more questions than answers at the moment and who doesn't seem to fit at all in this team, regarding the position he'll play. And also it doesn't look like it was Ole's signing AT ALL. Another shocking decision from our "competent" board.

 

[dinostar77]

I'll never understand why we didn't use the Donny money and put in a little extra (Use Pellistri/Diallo money) to get Grealish last summer. Now Grealish is untouchable and will probably cost at least twice more and we're stuck with a player who's raising more questions than answers at the moment and who doesn't seem to fit at all in this team, regarding the position he'll play. And also it doesn't look like it was Ole's signing AT ALL. Another shocking decision from our "competent" board.

If Villa had gone down i think we would have signed Grealish. I'd still like to sign him to play off the left wing. Give Rashford and Martial some real competition.

 

[Ali Dia]

We are playing it safe. He was most likely bought as pogbas replacement and a rotation for Bruno. How are people not seeing this? We are just being proactive and getting him settled in a season before Pogba leaves. Good planning right? Seems not for some...
Fans have the shortest memories ever. Everything is always so short term. Half a season is just 10% of the length of his contract. Hasn’t hit form after few months in a new country- player is a busted flush, doesn’t suit the league, different wavelength to his teammates (surprise surprise) why didn’t we spend the money on someone else, the manager didn’t want him, the board signed him despite the manager etc. Nearly every fecking time these days.

Everyone said the same thing about Fabinho and Fred while their managers eased them into PL football. Yes there’s still a chance he won’t recapture his best form down the road but why all the anguish and arguing and speculation in the meantime?
if he doesn’t make it here (he will) we will still get most of our money back for him. It’s not the end of the world either way. He’s a good young marketable international player and he will end up doing well here as pogbas replacement. Yet the argument will go around and around until threads like “VDB - 40 million well spent” start popping up and then people will still say he’s crap and he doesn’t fit for whatever reason fits their agenda. You actually can’t win.

 

[MadDogg]

If Villa had gone down i think we would have signed Grealish. I'd still like to sign him to play off the left wing. Give Rashford and Martial some real competition.

It's amazing to think that we were perhaps the most incredible VAR mistake away of all time away from having Grealish playing for us this season. Obviously other things may have changed if it had been ruled correctly, but technically the 1 point Villa got from that game kept them in the league.

 

[Okey]

We're worrying too much about VDB, methinks. Next season maybe, but not just yet. Citeh have better players than him on the bench regularly anyway. He'll have pre season and Pogba will likely be gone. If he proves his worth, he'll see lots of game time. He has to be good enough to earn his place.

 

[Tallis]

Am I the only one who is genuinely not worried about his development so far ? For sure a bit concerning he is not getting games and looked rusty when he has played but he is only 23 and overall in his career shown enough to show there is a player there, it's just going to take time for him to integrate properly into the squad, also looking from the outside in he looks to be quite a shy person so probably still a bit homesick and trying to find his feet in Manchester both the place and club,

Excited for Donny next season though, the guy will come good for sure.

I wasn’t worried for the most part. But starting to get a little worried now. His game time hasn’t got better at all - maybe we will see him more in the Europa.

I really hope Ole has a plan for him.

It’s weird that when I see him play - he seems to do fine, has nice touches and passes. Holds on to the ball really well but somehow Ole doesn’t trust him yet. I get a strong feeling that if he got more game time, he would start to contribute more in terms of assists and goals.

If we ever evolve into a possession based team that dominates other teams, that’s when we will see him at his best.

 

[Tallis]

I'll never understand why we didn't use the Donny money and put in a little extra (Use Pellistri/Diallo money) to get Grealish last summer. Now Grealish is untouchable and will probably cost at least twice more and we're stuck with a player who's raising more questions than answers at the moment and who doesn't seem to fit at all in this team, regarding the position he'll play. And also it doesn't look like it was Ole's signing AT ALL. Another shocking decision from our "competent" board.

I suspect it’s too early to say that Grealish alone would have been better than DVB and Amad etc For several reasons. We don’t know how well Grealish would have adapted to our system and we don’t know what DVB and Amad May contribute in the future.

 

[Terranova]

He was supposed to be Pogba's replacement right?...

 

[RedRonaldo]

Its already half season gone, seems he has made no impact in our game so far, 40m isn't nothing in COVID market, if we don't have a plan for him, why do we buy him for that much?

 

[lex talionis]

There's much more to talk about the debacle yesterday that Ole bringing on Fred instead of Donny when Pogba came off injured, but it is remarkable that we had to sub off an attack-minded midfield and instead of bringing on an attack-minded midfielder Ole we went with Fred, who has no use in the final third whatsoever. The theory had always been that Donny would use this season to bed in and then would fill Pogba's shoes once Pogba left this summer for Real or wherever, but with the increasing likelihood of Pogba going nowhere, so much for that.

Who knows what transfer activity will take place during another pandemic summer, but it's increasingly obvious Ole has no use for Donny and that he should soon start looking elsewhere.

 

[lost7]

Pogba is injured for at least a few weeks according to Ole. This is VdB's chance to send a statement and show his quality. Really hoping he's given a consistent run of games (between Fa Cup, Europe league and epl) and that he performs.

 

[sullydnl]

As with Henderson, because we're neither likely to win the league nor finish outside the top four, there should be more scope to give VDB league minutes over the second half of the season.

 

[Matt851]

Surely no one thinks things are going to plan for Donny so far. He is only really strengthening the bench if he can come off the bench and effect the game, for example coming on for pogba at the weekend or at least coming on for the last 30 mins.

I know some people are saying he is pogbas replacement but unless he shows more this season it would be a risk to let pogba go and just hope he comes good. If he can't demonstrate more this season we should sell him this summer if we can without making a big loss, although I doubt we will because ed would want to save face. We have so many positions that need strengthening we can't afford to have someone like him getting so few minutes. The other players we have who struggle for minutes aren't worth as much because they are old (e.g. mata) or not that good (james)