Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek was brought over from Ajax in the summer of 2020, for a transfer fee of £35 million plus £5 million in add-ons. It’s big money for a 25-year-old playmaker who still hasn’t earned an actual place in the squad. He is so far down the depth chart that he’s only played 19 minutes in the Premier League this season.
DVDB got his first start last night, in the 1-0 win over Real Sociedad, but manager Erik ten Hag, who is very familiar with Van de Beek very from their Ajax days together, was not impressed.
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“He had a good preseason and then got injured, now he is back,” Ten Hag said at his weekly Friday news conference. “I think it was a decent performance (on Thursday night) but he can do better. I know him very well (from when both were at Ajax).
“He delivered what I expected in terms of positioning, pressing and in the transition. I can only talk about him from my time here and I think he can do more.”
Don’t expect him to feature here.
United Team News
Ten Hag also said that he did not know if Antony or Anthony Martial were going to make the trip to Villa Park or not. Anthony Martial returned to full training this week and worked with the first-team on Wednesday, so he should be back for the weekend league fixture. Regarding Antony, Ten Hag said the following after the David Moyes Cup victory over West Ham on Sunday: “He is injured. I hope it’s not too bad, I think it’s not too bad. In a couple of days he will be back.”
Paul M. Banks is the Owner/Manager of The Sports Bank and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly contributed to WGN News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.