Donny van de Beek /beːk/| Manchester United Player

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Dante

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Apologies for the quality of the Nicky Butt one. United did invent it back in the mid-90s.
 

Craig Ward

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Now that he's signed up, I'll speculate on something I think could work under perfect circumstances which we arent able to meet yet. But perhaps with 1 more huge transfer we would.

And thats the idea of Pogba playing as the deepest player in midfield, playing the quarterback and deep lying playmaker role with Bruno and DVB pressing aggressively and having lots of pressure on the ball. I think in our current state it would only work against weaker teams and might not even work then because of a lack of support for the defense.

But. If we sign a top top CB. For example someone with huge potential and already playing at a high level like Upamacano to help out Maguire and we continue to play our solid fullbacks who can help the defense a lot, I think that could work as plan A in the majority of our games. Perhaps even if we played Smalling next to Maguire we might be able to get by with our defense doing all the actual defending and Pogba just being around positionally and with his physicality and not doing a particularly good job as DM. That would allow 5 of our players to get forward with Pogba setting them off with a creative pass into an advanced position.
I tend to agree that this will be the way Ole see's us lining up, but i got to say Pogba as the sole DM petrifies me as he cannot defend well enough.

For all his talents, Pogba doesnt have the positional sense or discipline to be our DM on his tod.

It will be interesting to see how we go in midfield thats for sure - Donny seems to be a great buy but i do wonder if we will be tasked with playing deeper on times as he seems a more rounded midfielder than Pogba for me.

Agree - we need a CB who is capable of defending 1v1 competently. Neither Lindelof or Maguire are very good at this
 

Pavl3n

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Came across this article on SkySports, where they breakdown some of his stats and where he compares to other midfielders and mostly ours.
The ones that really stood out for me were his final third possessions won and his big chances created (both per 90), where he topped Fernandes and Pogba . He also ranks 2nd, above Pogba, in goals and assists.
After playing a bit with squawka's matrix and comparing VdB to Grealish, Maddison, Bruno and Pogba (using last season's stats for the frenchman), some stats are a bit off but in general, if we are to believe the numbers, Donny excels in some areas and he's pretty solid in others.
 

Gordon S

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Hahaha good chant!

Lads are there any youth/young players at Ajax who could end up worth 40 million but we could probably get for 20 now? They seem to be an easy club for us to do business with but I don’t know much about their team apart from what I see in the CL

LB, RW (if we don’t get sancho stick with greenwood and get a backup) LW, CB, DLP, ST all need rotation players of a high standard. Surely Ajax have a few more very good players who would be up for the move and Donny already here to help them settle in?
I like Lisandro Martinez, a left footed CB/DM. A tad bit slow but seems intelligent and composed for a young player.
 

Valuedrug

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Out of curiosity, in what sense is he not a natural signing?

On a related note, Ole and the club spent a good amount of time and effort to ensure that Donny was the right fit for the club.

I must say, this is a big step forward for us; from signing whatever player was deemed good enough regardless of their background, personality, etc., to now getting players who'd be hungry and willing to play for the club. These are the sort of signings that will move the club forward.
In the sense of what positions I think we need to strengthen in the starting eleven, I don't see where he plays really. So that's why I say he is not the most natural fit - I'm thinking from the vantage point of the formations we usually deploy, which positions I consider weak or in need of a greater level of contention and so on. For me those are RW, LB, RB, CB and most of all CM. For instance I would consider someone coming in to replace Shaw, Matic or Greenwood as starters to be natural signings.

I appreciate that the media briefing has been that the club meticulously scrutinized this signing, that Ole talked to him about his place in the team etc., but I don't think this signing was part of some grand plan at all. He was supposed to sign for Madrid, but they pulled out in the wake of the financial impact of COVID, and so United pounced. It seems our scouting department has monitored him, and he was probably considered a back up option in case we couldn't get Grealish, which we can't now given Villa stayed in the PL after all. So yeah, not completely out of the blue, but I doubt him signing wen't down in accordance with our plan A for the transfer window.

So yeah, I think VdB is considered a depth signing, but also someone with the potential to increase the strategic flexibility of our setup, while potentially growing into a challenger for the starting line up as well. Which is great in isolation. I have a good feeling about him in terms of personality etc., but if you ask me what we should be moving on for a first priority, we need to strengthen our core setup since we have considerable deficiencies in several areas of the squad. If the club can address these while also having financial leeway to bolster our ranks a bit of front, then great. However, if we're signing VdB instead of getting in proper attacking options at full back, a mobile and defensively sound CM or a natural RW then I'll be worried about next season, unless the academy can somehow solve those issues. Which would be quite incredible in my opinion.
 

macheda14

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In the sense of what positions I think we need to strengthen in the starting eleven, I don't see where he plays really. So that's why I say he is not the most natural fit - I'm thinking from the vantage point of the formations we usually deploy, which positions I consider weak or in need of a greater level of contention and so on. For me those are RW, LB, RB, CB and most of all CM. For instance I would consider someone coming in to replace Shaw, Matic or Greenwood as starters to be natural signings.

I appreciate that the media briefing has been that the club meticulously scrutinized this signing, that Ole talked to him about his place in the team etc., but I don't think this signing was part of some grand plan at all. He was supposed to sign for Madrid, but they pulled out in the wake of the financial impact of COVID, and so United pounced. It seems our scouting department has monitored him, and he was probably considered a back up option in case we couldn't get Grealish, which we can't now given Villa stayed in the PL after all. So yeah, not completely out of the blue, but I doubt him signing wen't down in accordance with our plan A for the transfer window.

So yeah, I think VdB is considered a depth signing, but also someone with the potential to increase the strategic flexibility of our setup, while potentially growing into a challenger for the starting line up as well. Which is great in isolation. I have a good feeling about him in terms of personality etc., but if you ask me what we should be moving on for a first priority, we need to strengthen our core setup since we have considerable deficiencies in several areas of the squad. If the club can address these while also having financial leeway to bolster our ranks a bit of front, then great. However, if we're signing VdB instead of getting in proper attacking options at full back, a mobile and defensively sound CM or a natural RW then I'll be worried about next season, unless the academy can somehow solve those issues. Which would be quite incredible in my opinion.
Every single report coming out at the beginning of summer pointed to us wanting a CAM as cover (Grealish or VdB), Sancho and a CB. If the reports about Reguilon are true, I think we may have moved our priority away from CB to LB because we can't find a CB of good enough quality and we are no longer in the business of just buying stop gaps. We've been linked with VdB for a long time and as soon as Grealish and Villa stayed up I'm pretty sure he became our plan A. Just because he's our first signing this window doesnt mean he's come in place of anyone else. We may not sign anyone else because we've dilly dallied too long, but its not because of VdB.
 

Valuedrug

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Every single report coming out at the beginning of summer pointed to us wanting a CAM as cover (Grealish or VdB), Sancho and a CB. If the reports about Reguilon are true, I think we may have moved our priority away from CB to LB because we can't find a CB of good enough quality and we are no longer in the business of just buying stop gaps. We've been linked with VdB for a long time and as soon as Grealish and Villa stayed up I'm pretty sure he became our plan A. Just because he's our first signing this window doesnt mean he's come in place of anyone else. We may not sign anyone else because we've dilly dallied too long, but its not because of VdB.
Reports in the beginning of the summer? Are you're suggesting that paper talk on the cusp of the transfer window qualifies as evidence of Uniteds long term plans? Because when I say plan A, I mean something that follows a blueprint in place for longer than two months. I don't really follow the constant chatter about transfers, because it feels like a waste of time, but I would be interested to know how long we have been linked to VdB from credible sources. Yes, I have seen Grealish and Maddison mentioned in a long time, but not VdB really. I don't know that Grealish and VdB are similar enough that you can really consider them interchangeable. They seem very different in play style and strengths to me, although as I said, the apparent flexibility of someone like VdB could be a big asset going forward.

Also how can you say with any confidence that signing VdB doesn't mean sacrificing in other areas? Personally I don't feel like anyone can say with any real certainty what's going on with our tranfers, but it would make sense to assume a pretty firm ceiling on how much the club will spend given the briefings about limitations due to the impact of COVID. So in that sense spending on VdB could absolutely change what other positions we can strengthen in.
 

macheda14

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Reports in the beginning of the summer? Are you're suggesting that paper talk on the cusp of the transfer window qualifies as evidence of Uniteds long term plans? Because when I say plan A, I mean something that follows a blueprint in place for longer than two months.
Reports from very reputable journalists. They are consistent with our long term plans. Grealish and VdB aren't interchangeable in terms of style, but what they offer to the team is. They are both players that can offer us something different. If you had watched our last 8 games you'd see that we never subbed bruno, no matter how tired he was. Grealish or VdB offer us that opportunity even though they play in a different way. Ole even last window said he likes to bring in a few players at a time. So the reports of us only trying to bring in Sancho, CAM cover and a CB hold true to his word. So it seems that VdB is part of the blueprint.

I mean i'm slightly confused with this line ' he was probably considered a back up option in case we couldn't get Grealish, which we can't now given Villa stayed in the PL after all.' So that points to you thinking plan A involves CAM cover? Ole and his staff are obviously looking for a profile of players they want to bring in. VdB isn't interchangeable with Grealish, but Ole wanted to bring in someone of adequate quality to cover Bruno and another position which can afford us to rotate. We were strongly linked to VdB since the beginning of June - before the end of the season - which obviously points to him being on a list of potential targets to fill a problem area in the squad.

Ok fine, I can't say it with any certainty, just like you can't say anything with any certainty. But I can assume that the reports that came from numerous sources at the beginning of summer, and throughout, (including ones that are consistently briefed by the club) that we are interested in those three positions are true. I'm going to base my position on consistent reporting from reputable sources.
 

Redfrog

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I have not seen much VdB appart from the run to the semi finals of champions league. But I must say against real and Juventus that is the player I I was impressed the most.

He looked to have everything in this games. He was litteraly everywhere and tore this two teams a new one.

He was at the heart of everything in this games. He ran his socks off, pressed like crazy and was very good to move and receive the ball.

You could see he is a big game player and he will just rise for the occasion.
I hope he is not just that obviously and that he will be good any game, and that is exactly why it is good to have competition on the squad.

I was really surprised he was not taken away from Ajax right after this season as he impressed me much more then the two players everybody were crazy about that season (de ligt and the barca dude).

I think he will be perfect if we want a better pressing game and for the league so I am excited to see him play next season.

And I must say he gave me some hope for this transfer window as I was about to lose some ! Roll on for the next one now please !
 

Toad

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Ffs I felt a bit relieved for Merson when he avoided the chop on Sky, at the end of the day it’s all he’s got I suppose apart from being a function speaker with the odd funny story, but feck him, he’s fecking. clueless.
I would love to see him as a manager in modern day
 

AjaxNL

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Hahaha good chant!

Lads are there any youth/young players at Ajax who could end up worth 40 million but we could probably get for 20 now? They seem to be an easy club for us to do business with but I don’t know much about their team apart from what I see in the CL

LB, RW (if we don’t get sancho stick with greenwood and get a backup) LW, CB, DLP, ST all need rotation players of a high standard. Surely Ajax have a few more very good players who would be up for the move and Donny already here to help them settle in?

That's actually pretty condescending. The reason you did good business with Ajax is because there was an agreement between Ajax and Donny that if he would stay on the back of his insane 2018/'19 season (the CL season), Ajax wouldn't require top money the next summer. You capitalized on that agreement, very rightly so and I think Ajax fans in general are very happy for Donny with this move. But that isn't to say that Ajax will roll over any time United come knocking.

Hoping Donny will get some playing time soon in the match against Poland!
 

Toad

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Just saw this, laughable isn't it. We've been scouting him for a long time it's not a panic buy.
You’d think somebody would give him a few tips of what and what not to say. I guess even his friends/colleagues even enjoy watching him make a fool of himself.
 

Pavl3n

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You’d think somebody would give him a few tips of what and what not to say. I guess even his friends/colleagues even enjoy watching him make a fool of himself.
They even inserted a poll in the article asking if Donny is a panic buy.
It's expected 90% of the votes would disagree with such hollow article.
 

Tiber

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Very brief cameo but wasn’t impressive. A few stray passes and made a mess of a chance on his left foot.
When did he last kick a ball? Wasn't the Ajax season cancelled months ago?

Hard to judge him on a 10 min cameo after not playing since Feb
 

Pogue Mahone

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When was the last time he played a competitive game?
When did he last kick a ball? Wasn't the Ajax season cancelled months ago?

Hard to judge him on a 10 min cameo after not playing since Feb
I’m not judging him. I didn’t say “Played badly. He’s a crap player.” I just said he didn’t impress. And he didn’t. I know he’s better than that. I’ve seen him play better than that. Just a bit disappointed that I watched the game to get a look at him but a) he got so few minutes and b) didn’t make much of them. Shit happens though. No big deal.
 
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Just saw this, laughable isn't it. We've been scouting him for a long time it's not a panic buy.
I was thinking he had an arguable point, as it’s an area we are strong in. But any small amount of credit I gave Merson went out the window when he said we shouldn’t sign Sancho.
 

Toad

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They even inserted a poll in the article asking if Donny is a panic buy.
It's expected 90% of the votes would disagree with such hollow article.
I saw that also, pretty amusing to be honest.
 

KirkDuyt

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I’m not judging him. I didn’t say “Played badly. He’s a crap player.” I just said he didn’t impress. And he didn’t. I know he’s better than that. I’ve seen him play better than that. Just a bit disappointed that I watched the game to get a look at him but a) he got so few minutes and b) didn’t make much of them. Shit happens though. No big deal.
Even though he didnt do well yesterday, you could see what he brings, depth. First half we created almost nothing, but he almost immediately made a run which ended in a big chance. He wasted it, but misshitting a ball can happen. If you have people feeding him, he will penatrate into the oppos box a lot.

I don't think he has the end product to make him world class yet, but he's young, so who knows.
 

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pocco

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Came across this article on SkySports, where they breakdown some of his stats and where he compares to other midfielders and mostly ours.
The ones that really stood out for me were his final third possessions won and his big chances created (both per 90), where he topped Fernandes and Pogba . He also ranks 2nd, above Pogba, in goals and assists.
After playing a bit with squawka's matrix and comparing VdB to Grealish, Maddison, Bruno and Pogba (using last season's stats for the frenchman), some stats are a bit off but in general, if we are to believe the numbers, Donny excels in some areas and he's pretty solid in others.
Only problem with that is the level of opposition. We've seen some really average players do good numbers in that league in recent years.
 

Adam-Utd

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He is not totally wrong though. Maybe he is not a panic buy. But his position is our least problem. You cant buy back up players to your starting 11 while you have been short of a left back and a right winger for many many years. This squad management is not optimal. Sir Alex would have never done so. Ignore a position for 7 years.
At the end of the season a proper alternative to Fernandes looked obvious. Solskjaer clearly doesn't trust Lingard/Pereira as the number 10 and prefers Pogba in a deeper position. We needed another decent number 10.

Williams does a decent job as a back up lb at present while we find an alternative, and we all know about the RW position.
 

Adam-Utd

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Very brief cameo but wasn’t impressive. A few stray passes and made a mess of a chance on his left foot.
His off ball movement and positioning is what is best about him.

He always stands in the pockets between the full back and centre back and is really difficult to pick up. You can see why he scores a lot from just being in the right positions.

If he turns out to be a Lingard with better technique and actual end product i'll be happy.
 
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