United Reach Agreement to Sign Donny van de Beek for £39.3m

According to multiple outlets, Manchester United have finally reached agreement on their first signing of of the summer, and it’s Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek. He’ll leave the Dutch Eredivisie powerhouse for Old Trafford, on a reported transfer fee of 44 million euros (£39.3 million).

Telegraph Sport (via Yahoo!) “understands that personal terms have already been agreed with the Dutch international who is expected to undergo a medical this week ahead of signing a five-year deal at the Premier League club.”

Van de Beek has long been linked with United, but ruled out a move to the club in the winter. However, in June Ajax Football Director and former United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar admitted that Van de Beek was a target of his former club, and that the 23-year-old could leave, if a suitable offer was made.

He has two years left on his current deal. Van de Beek was dropped from the team for the club’s friendly against Eintracht Frankfurt yesterday, with manager Erik ten Hag admitting the omission was related to the player’s club future.

This transfer situation escalated quickly, with reports indicating he’ll undergo his medical, finalize terms and be formally announced within the coming week.

With Paul Pogba working on a new contract extension, it’s expected that Van de Beek will shift into a deeper role, forming a starting midfield triad with the Frenchman and Bruno Fernandes. It would make for a very strong starting midfield, and also a pretty deep unit overall, when you consider the back-up troika would be Nemanja Matic, Fred and Scott McTominay.

That said United are still said to be pursuing a right sided forward, with the Jadon Sancho pursuit having proved futile, and the club now exploring contingencies.

Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.

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