Donny Van De Beek

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I haven't seen him alot apart from the UCL games. But he looks a player that we could really do with due to his versatility. Can play all 3 positions #6, #8, #10 to a good level from what I've seen and read.

Would be a very sensible signing if we can pick him up.
 

hn4manunited

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MetoTTT

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I'll be really pleased if we sign him. Versatile midfield (can play 6,8 and 10), hardworking, good on the ball, good at reading the game and vision, great mobility and he plays with passion and have the right attitude. All this at a reasonable price. Do it Ed!
He could be an excellent signing imo.
 

BlahRules

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We won’t sign him even though he would improve us massively.

We would only show our interest when he takes the premier league by storm.
 

hn4manunited

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These are the kinds of player who if we bought now, we will likely be able to sell for higher if that day comes.
 

Gandalf

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Would be a great signing for us but there is really no indication we are in for him. Possible it is one that could happen now that the Nations League is over, I do expect some significant activity over the next week or two and if the past is any indication the players we sign won't be the ones we have been linked to for the last month.
 

davidmichael

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Realistically what are we looking at price wise if we were in for him ? £30-£45 million ? Any Ajax fans in here that could give some insight ? If we could get Van De Beek, Rice and Rabiot in whilst keeping Pogba how strong would be midfield wise.
 

Swiss_Red89

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I'm not sure if he really is that good. He is a bit clumsy on the ball sometimes. But he often seems to come in good areas and is a very efficient player.
I think he could also become a fan favorite at OT if he delivers.

Would be a bit of a gamble though.
 

Pierluigi Casiraghi

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I'm not sure if he really is that good. He is a bit clumsy on the ball sometimes. But he often seems to come in good areas and is a very efficient player.
I think he could also become a fan favorite at OT if he delivers.

Would be a bit of a gamble though.
This is the impression I get too. Seems an intelligent player with excellent awareness and instincts in the final third, along with a good engine and an eye for goal, but not a particularly wide range of passing or silky touch. Still, he's a very young and will probably improve in those regards
 

Fosu-Mens

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This is the impression I get too. Seems an intelligent player with excellent awareness and instincts in the final third, along with a good engine and an eye for goal, but not a particularly wide range of passing or silky touch. Still, he's a very young and will probably improve in those regards
Functional technique and passing. His cognitive pace(how quick he is to understand what should be done in each situation) is top class.
 

Lash

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I think he's good, but I reckon he stays at Ajax one more year. They surely can't get rid of their whole team in one go?
 

Kaglish10

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This is the impression I get too. Seems an intelligent player with excellent awareness and instincts in the final third, along with a good engine and an eye for goal, but not a particularly wide range of passing or silky touch. Still, he's a very young and will probably improve in those regards
He's got good range of passing. In fact, that's one of his best attribute apart from his quick speed of thought and movement. The fact that he's been deployed as a no 10/SS behind a false 9 striker in Tadic wouldn't allow for such passing range to be showcased as he's been operating more or less like a striker.

He doesn't have the silky touch like the two Silva (Bernardo and David). That's also one of the reason why I think he doesn't suit the no 10 role apart from the fact that he's not very quick however, he's got good first touch, control and quick thinking which are enough for him to play well in the midfield.

I would liken him to Bastian Schweisteiger who can operate in any of the midfield role and also has got the same gangly long legs but that doesn't stop him from doing his thing in the midfield.
 

Kaglish10

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He's another pass and move player like Pogba. Not the orchestrator who can control from deep. We need a different type of player.
He's different from Pogba. While Pogba prefers to have a roaming role in the midfield, Van de Beek is at his best as a CM, either as a no 6 or 8.

I saw him as a no 8 alongside Ziyech (who's actually no 10) in one of Ajax Europa play off (was it CL play off?) last season and he was quite good as a midfielder. In fact, he was the best player on the pitch in that match. I have seen him in two different roles (no 6 and no 8) apart from the no 10 role he's assumed this season and he's looked quality in the two different roles, far better than what he's done so far as a no 10.

He's not even been deployed as a proper no 10 behind a lead striker but has been more or less utilised as a striker considering the fact that he's got a false 9 striker (Tadic) in front of him.

Bastian schweisteiger was also at some point deployed as a wide midfielder until he was deployed as a central midfielder however Van de Beek is a player who's already showed enough promise as a central midfielder before he was moved to the SS role due to Ajax's lack of striker and also, the fact that Ajax has got other central midfielders.
 

Edgar Allan Pillow

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He's different from Pogba. While Pogba prefers to have a roaming role in the midfield, Van de Beek is at his best as a CM, either as a no 6 or 8.
His best position and where he spends most of time is on attacking half between the midway line and box. His defensive contributions are a bit light compared to his attacking focus.

He's a great prospect, no doubt...but we need a deep passer and controller more. Can he do that role? Probably. Is that his best fit? Probably not.
 

Kaglish10

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His best position and where he spends most of time is on attacking half between the midway line and box. His defensive contributions are a bit light compared to his attacking focus.

He's a great prospect, no doubt...but we need a deep passer and controller more. Can he do that role? Probably. Is that his best fit? Probably not.
That was this season. Last season and two seasons ago, he played as a no 8 and no 6 respectively.
 

Aloysius's Back 3

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The Ajax boys are flavour of the month and everyone exploits us. We'd end up paying over £50m.
De Ligt & De Jong got highlighted this year & any club would be in for him.

De Beek was important but considering he himself wants to move to the PL according to reports and not alot of teams are linked to him I think he could go from 35-45 mil whilst covering alot of midfielders roles.
 

NinjaZombie

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This is a no brainer. We need centre midfielders and he's one of the best young cms around. In addition, he's reportedly open to moving to us.
 

Gopher Brown

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The reason Im towards signing him is I don't think he would cost much.
That shouldn’t be how we approach this transfer window though. If the right players are available, we shouldn’t be looking at ‘the cheaper option’ if he’s not as good as a more expensive one. That’s how you become Liverpool 1990-2016.

It’s not like the club will bring in extra players if we don’t pay as much initially. I’m worried about van de Beek in as much as I think he’s a player suited very much to Ajax’s system and we don’t play like that. Albeit, I’ve not seen an awful lot of him.
 

Henrik Larsson

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His surname is 'Van de Beek' without a first name or 'van de Beek' following one. Not 'De Beek', and definitely not 'Van De Beek' because he's not a fecking Belgian now is he, they're the ones using capital letters on every word in a surname, the Dutch don't do that.

He's also nowhere near ready to take United back to the top of the league, excellent player on his day of course and very impressive workrate. Wouldn't be surprised if he'll be around Wijnaldum's level in a couple more years, but it's a bit early to sign him up.
 

Kaglish10

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That shouldn’t be how we approach this transfer window though. If the right players are available, we shouldn’t be looking at ‘the cheaper option’ if he’s not as good as a more expensive one. That’s how you become Liverpool 1990-2016.

It’s not like the club will bring in extra players if we don’t pay as much initially. I’m worried about van de Beek in as much as I think he’s a player suited very much to Ajax’s system and we don’t play like that. Albeit, I’ve not seen an awful lot of him.
The point is he's good and will be cheap, probably due to the fact that he's not got so much highlight on him compared to others (I actually think if he's been deployed in his best role, he would have got the same highlight because everytime I've seen him as a central midfielder either as a no 6 or 8, he's looked the best on the pitch).

Many pundits who see him today would think he's just a SS or even a striker and when you look at the amount of goals he's scored, it's not impressive as a striker. However, without him operating as a shadow striker, Tadic as a false 9 striker wouldn't work. Van de Beek was simply the brain behind Ajax's setup in the CL this season. Without him, I doubt Ajax would have gone that far and this is a player who's not been operating in his best position but has been a tactical player for his coach in order to minimise the effect of their lack of a striker. If we could get him for cheap and then deploy him in his best position which is the central midfield, I think he could be a steal for us.
 

Kaglish10

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His surname is 'Van de Beek' without a first name or 'van de Beek' following one. Not 'De Beek', and definitely not 'Van De Beek' because he's not a fecking Belgian now is he, they're the ones using capital letters on every word in a surname, the Dutch don't do that.

He's also nowhere near ready to take United back to the top of the league, excellent player on his day of course and very impressive workrate. Wouldn't be surprised if he'll be around Wijnaldum's level in a couple more years, but it's a bit early to sign him up.
He's got better passing range and vision than Wijnaldum.
 

beingshe7don

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Van De Beek would offer great depth. I can only see him coming if Pereira or Fred plan on leaving the club.
 

deafepl

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Can see us switching to 4-3-1-2 if we get Van De Beek, he would be perfect Herrera replacement and more forward-thinking mind. Pogba has to sit deeper and control the match with his long passing and use his physical to outmuscle in the midfield battle and be DLP, I prefer his form in 2016/17 form when he was playing as DLP in some games. Bruno linking up with attacker and be the link that can play between the lines, dangerous outside box and can create chances for attackers. Van De Beek should have a free foam in 8 roles, he'll be running all day and have great stamina, he'll attack and defend. Pogba, Bruno, Van De Beek and DM in midfield would be nice, it has potential to be the goal-scoring machine and too much creativity in this midfield.
 

Kaglish10

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Can see us switching to 4-3-1-2 if we get Van De Beek, he would be perfect Herrera replacement and more forward-thinking mind. Pogba has to sit deeper and control the match with his long passing and use his physical to outmuscle in the midfield battle and be DLP, I prefer his form in 2016/17 form when he was playing as DLP in some games. Bruno linking up with attacker and be the link that can play between the lines, dangerous outside box and can create chances for attackers. Van De Beek should have a free foam in 8 roles, he'll be running all day and have great stamina, he'll attack and defend. Pogba, Bruno, Van De Beek and DM in midfield would be nice, it has potential to be the goal-scoring machine and too much creativity in this midfield.
That would even make Pogba cry a lot more considering the fact that he's been sulking for not getting to play as a free roaming player in the midfield.

I wouldn't mind a 433 setup with a CDM behind both Pogba and Van de Beek in the midfield. Van de Beek actually looked impressive alongside a free roaming Ziyech in front of Schone last season before he was moved to the striker role this season. As we know already, Ziyech is a free roaming player, similar to Pogba.
 

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Disagree with those saying he can play at no 6, in my personal opinion he's not the most comfortable with the ball at his feet and is therefore a bit of a liability to play him in a position where he will often be in his own half or close to it. As an 8 or 10 he has a lot of potential though - he's got good awareness and times his runs into the box very well. I would compare him to an Aaron Ramsey type - a good player and very good squad option but not sure he's one who will end up regularly starting for a team challenging or winning titles.
 

Kaglish10

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Disagree with those saying he can play at no 6, in my personal opinion he's not the most comfortable with the ball at his feet and is therefore a bit of a liability to play him in a position where he will often be in his own half or close to it. As an 8 or 10 he has a lot of potential though - he's got good awareness and times his runs into the box very well. I would compare him to an Aaron Ramsey type - a good player and very good squad option but not sure he's one who will end up regularly starting for a team challenging or winning titles.
He doesn't have Bernardo Silva's deft touch but so was Bastian Schweisteiger and that didn't stop him from operating as a no 6 and no 8. Just like Bastian, Van de Beek has got a solid first touch, good control on the ball, quick speed of thought and passing range to operate as a midfielder either as a no 6 or 8. Even de bruyne doesn't have a deft touch and looks good in the midfield. It's not like these players have got Bebe's touch or something. They have good first touch and are capable of using their athletic body to shield the ball after making a good first touch with the ball. Not to mention their quick speed of thought.

Carrick didn't have a deft touch too.
 

Nou_Camp99

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Think either this guy or Tielmanns would be a sensible replacement for Herrera.

Not sold on Rabiot. Talented but seems to come with lots of baggage.
 

Rinnegan240

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I find his gameplay really efficient and effective.

No frills, no thrills, just straight down to biz, ya dig?

He's certainly no Davy Klaasen as Klaasen never possessed the engine Van de Beek possesses.
 

Kaglish10

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Besides, he's a two footed player who's got a fantastic right foot but also quite comfortable on his left too and use it quite frequently to pass or strike the ball. At some point, I even thought he was left footed until I found out that he's actually right footed hence I've taken time to study him a lot more and realised he's far more assured with his right than his left but it's not usually visible to a casual eye because he tends to use both consistently hence I would say he's actually good on the ball.