Manchester United seem to have finally set their sights onto a realistic target. Fellow English clubs Manchester City and Chelsea have been quite active in the transfer market. With that being said, the silence in the red half of Manchester has seemed bizarre. Though there has been some movement in the past 48 hours.
The Red Devils have finally fixated on securing the signing of Ajax‘s Donny Van de Beek as per renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano.
The 23-year-old is very interested in playing in the Premier League according to the Italian transfer specialist. Also, with the relations between the two clubs being decent, Ajax are now apparently waiting for a bid from the Premier League giants.
How Van de Beek Would Fit in at Manchester United
Much Needed Squad Depth
The problem for Manchester United has been very evident. The English club lacks a good squad depth despite having a world class first team. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs quality reinforcements for the upcoming season.
Van de Beek certainly fits the bill. Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes are the two regulars in the starting lineup and are almost untouchable. Nemanja Matić’s top-flight career seems to be in a bit of frenzy with him ageing. Brazilian Fred and youth starlet Scott McTominay have been decent but not first team material.
A world class central midfielder could certainly complete their midfield. Moreover, with Van de Beek having time on his side and Champions League experience under his belt, this seems like a long term investment which could reap countless benefits.
Van de Beek’s Position in the Current Manchester United Setup
Solskjaer plays a compact 4-2-3-1 system in most of his games. As Paul Pogba has been absent for majority of the season, Nemanja Matić and Scott McTominay have been the two pivots in the center of the park. While Bruno Fernandes plays like a false nine behind the striker, almost in a high lying play-maker role.
Analysing Van de Beek’s past few seasons, the Dutch midfielder is a natural central midfielder. But his heatmap for the last season has emphasized on him tending towards the right side of the pitch more.
Paul Pogba and Van de Beek as the two pivots could be a world class pair in the middle of the field. Pogba would play the usual box-to-box role, while Van de Beek could handle the creativity segment.
Bruno Fernandes has been over-relied upon to create that spark, and the 23-year-old could only help the squad by bringing his play-making as well as goalscoring abilities to Old Trafford.
Van de Beek: The Numbers
As ironic as it may seem, Van de Beek actually has better defensive statistics in the central midfield role compared to Nemanja Matić and Scott McTominay. This is despite the Netherlands man being less of a physical player. Van de Beek averages two tackles every 90 minutes compared to Nemanja Matić‘s figure of 1.4 and Scott McTominay‘s 1.3 tackles per game.
Moreover, the United transfer target is also highly efficient in creating goal-scoring opportunities. Van de Beek created six goal-scoring chances for his team-mates this past season in 23 games. Out of the six chances, he managed to secure five assists.
Comparing these attacking statistics to Matić and McTominay would be a shame. While the Serbian midfielder created no big chances all season and thus obviously failed to record a single assist, McTominay created two big chances which were not converted into a single game-changing opportunity.
Certainly, Van de Beek is a defensive as well as attacking package.
Less Burden on Bruno Fernandes
With Van de Beek potentially coming in, the Portuguese play-maker’s game can only be enhanced. The single-handed pressure of creating magic on the pitch would be shared and Fernandes could even play much higher on the pitch. This could help the ex-Sporting CP midfielder to move closer to the final ball.
Champions League football will be back to Old Trafford this upcoming season. This increases the number of high-profile games to be played by an enormous quantity. Without a good squad depth, it would be impossible for Solskjaer’s army to survive in Europe.
Van de Beek’s potential arrival could be a sigh of a relief amongst the club and it’s fans. While it also freshens the star-studded squad.
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