DONNY VAN DE BACK: WILL THE YOUNG DUTCHMAN SHINE NOW OLE HAS GONE?

Featured Image Credit: The Sun

The struggle of Manchester united really hurts the team, management and specially the fans. As a fan, the disappointment after a loss or a bad performance is now not even felt and numbness is the only constant feeling.

Since 2017…

The Manchester United team needed changes and some quick ones to challenge for any silverware this season. The team has struggled to win a trophy since the 2017 Europa League and missed out on the same in the 2021 Final by losing to Villareal on penalties. The club could manage 3 times in top 4 in the English Premier League with huge point difference from the champions since 2016/17 season. Few of the new transfers have and had performed up to the par or above such as Bruno Fernandes, Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic and Victor Lindelof. This accounts to less than 50% success rate of the transfers since 2017.

Morale Boosters…

On the bright side, the involvement of young players in the team like Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Aaron Wan Bissaka and the teenager Mason Greenwood has given the club a huge boost. Adding to this, with no doubt Bruno Fernandes has further increased the morale of the club and as well as for its fans. Bruno’s ability of creating numerous chances with creative style of play has changed the stagnant midfield of Manchester united. Furthermore, incoming of Cristiano Ronaldo back to Manchester United has uplifted the team with his presence. He has surely been influential and has saved the team from jaws of defeat and draws in multiple UEFA Champions League matches this season.

In comes the young Dutch…

With the uncertainty of many transfer targets, Manchester United stretched their arms in 2020 to get hold off another brilliant Dutch youngster, Donny Van De Beek. The relationship between the Dutch footballers and Manchester United has always been incredibly good. From the time of 1999 treble winner Jaap Stam, signings of Dutch players such as Edwin Van Der Sar, Robin Van Persie, Daley Blind and my personal favourite Ruud Van Nistelrooy had shown great work ethic and achievements for the club. The influence of Dutch players for the club has always been of great quality, which has helped Manchester United to win trophies one after another.

Van De Beek is known for his attacking onslaught in the midfield and work rate on the entire pitch. During his time at Ajax, he has not only shown the ability to get into spaces between defenders but continuously shuffling around to make opportunities for his teammates as well. Scoring his first goal for Manchester United as a substitute on his debut, showed how the Dutch youngster can bring instant impact in the game. Being a versatile player and having a similar work rate as Bruno, Donny could be a game changer for the sluggish Manchester United midfield in recent times. The fans were excited to see him play regularly to enable a strong and a creative midfield for the team, which has been missing since Sir Alex Ferguson had retired as the manager. Van De Beek has been considered an excellent signing, who can add flavour to the current midfield and influence attacking plays.

Bench warming days…

Donny since joining the Red Devils has only played 59 minutes in the English Premier League, which is sad to see to for a young and a talented player. Ole had his own plans with the team and as per his tactics and strategies, Donny did fit into the playing XI. While sitting on the bench, not only Donny but United fans were getting restless to see him play for the team. It had come to such a point that, Donny could possibly be loaned or transferred to another team.

There is still hope…

The dreadful performances by Manchester United since early October has really depleted the confidence of not only the players but also the fans. In the game against Atalanta in the 2nd leg of Champions League, Donny played for less than 10 minutes; here he showed how influential he can be by being a part of the play for the equaliser in the injury time. The long-awaited surprise and joy came in the recent 4-1 premier league defeat against Watford, when he came in as a substitute and scored a goal in the 50th minute. This gave the team and fans a hope to make a classic comeback but the future had something else written for the match result.

With the Ole getting sacked after the Watford defeat, Van de Beek now sees a glimpse of bright light in his Manchester United career. He has been strongly backed by the fans since his transfer, but now he is being supported more than ever. If he is given more playing time and nurtured well from now then he can be very influential for the team just like Ronaldo and Bruno. Furthermore, with the injury to Paul Pogba and his uncertainty to sign a new contract paves the way for Donny to play more regularly in recent future.

And as Rio Ferdinand said at the time of signing of Van De Beek: “what does he bring to this team?” One would believe that he has the ability to bring the long-lost energy and creativity this club is looking for quite some time now. Van de Beek could turn out to be one of the most influential players in the Manchester United squad and English Premier League in the coming years and possibly become a Dutch legend of this great club.