Sport
Donny van de Beek is finally proving his worth at Manchester United
If Erik ten Hag isn’t able to get the best out of Donny van de Beek for Manchester United, the chances of anyone else faring better in the management of the Dutch midfield is rather low. After all, it was under ten Hag’s stewardship at Ajax that van de Beek earned himself a reputation as one of the game’s best young midfielders. There is a connection between the two.
That connection is finally starting to come to the fore with van de Beek coming off the bench in the two Premier League matches Manchester United have played following the World Cup break. While the 25-year-old still isn’t a key figure at Old Trafford, he is at least proving his worth as a valuable squad member.
Van de Beek was particularly impressive in the 25 minutes he played against Nottingham Forest, giving United fresh energy when they needed it towards the end of the match. The Dutchman’s drive and pressing ability allowed the Old Trafford outfit to keep the foot on the throat of their opposition for the full 90 minutes. He played his part.
Ten Hag has settled on a first-choice midfield unit as Manchester United manager this season with Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandez operating well as a trio. Van de Beek hasn’t come anywhere close to breaking that up with Fred and Scott McTominay also competing for minutes with the Dutchman. There is only so much game time to go around.
However, van de Beek has recently demonstrated his football intelligence, recognising the pressing triggers put in place by ten Hag to keep pressure on the opposition high up the pitch. The 25-year-old also has the technical ability and vision to spot a pass when he wins the ball back, as proven by one or two of the opportunities created in the win over Forest.
The confidence is starting to return to van de Beek’s play. For the last two seasons, he has been a shadow of the player that caught the eye of Europe’s biggest clubs for Ajax, but van de Beek is forging stronger relationships with the teammates around him – he is clearly on the same wavelength as Fernandes on the basis of some of their combination play.
That it has taken van de Beek this long to find his feet again under ten Hag, a coach he knows exceptionally well, reveals just how badly mismanaged he was by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, neither of whom knew how to get the best out of the midfielder. Ten Hag was left to pick up the pieces for the 25-year-old.
“I’ve seen him better in the past,” Ten Hag said before the 2022 World Cup when van de Beek started to show an initial upturn in form. “I think positioning-wise, he’s acting quite well. But he has to make that step up. “I don’t think a loan [makes] sense. It’s either he fights [for] himself and proves himself, in this atmosphere in this environment, or he goes. But for me, there is still a way for him, there is still a perspective for him. It’s not going to be easy because the competition there is really strong.”
Indeed, the competition at Old Trafford is stiff and it will get even stiffer should Manchester United lure Frenkie de Jong to the club with ten Hag still eager to be reunited with the Barcelona midfielder in the Premier League. But at least van de Beek has given ten Hag reason to consider him an important member of his squad.
