After links to Bayern, Real Madrid and Barcelona, Donny van de Beek is set to move to Manchester United

Dutch international Donny van de Beek is set to be signed by Manchester United after more than a year of rumours linking him to Europe’s elite clubs. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich being the prime suspects in the rumour bag.

An instrumental cog in the Ajax machine, Van de Beek along with his fellow academy cohorts Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong were vital to Ajax’s dream run in the 18/19 Champions League.

Capable of playing anywhere in midfield, Van de Beek is a mobile presence on the pitch. With a combined 30(!) goal involvements (17G +13A) in the 18/19 season, he has much to offer going forward. His goal involvements saw a dip to 21 this season considering the fewer appearances made by him and the sale of key players from Ajax.

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A killer first touch, intelligent movement, a knack for making late runs into the box as well as lethal threaded balls — Van de Beek has all the tools needed to succeed at the biggest clubs in the world. A move to Bayern, especially now under Hansi Flick’s electric playstyle would have been a mouth watering preposition for the 23 year-old and the FC Bayern fanbase!

Alas, after more than a year of rumours linking Van de Beek to several of Europe’s big clubs, he will move to the red side of Manchester.

The current midfield of United has surefire starters in Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba with Ole juggling between the duo of Nemanja Matic and Fred at CDM. But English clubs play an insane number of games in a season. Having another top class player in Van de Beek who is capable of playing across the midfield to share the load and come off the bench would be a wise move if United want to avoid burning out their best players towards the last few months of a season.