Manchester United in a transfer tussle with Real Madrid for Ajax star

The Red Devils are considering going all out for Ajax’s Donny van de Beek.

Donny van de Beek of Ajax

According to The Daily Mail, Manchester United are reportedly plotting a transfer swoop for Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek, who turns out to be a primary target for Real Madrid. The Dutch youngster had been speculated to join the Los Blancos this summer before the pandemic hindered the progress. Now, the Red Devils are looking to throw a spanner in the works of the La Liga giants as they are now preparing to lure the Eredivisie star to Old Trafford in the transfer window. The report also adds that United’s Chief Executive Ed Woodward would like to negotiate a transfer fee in the region of €36m while Madrid were said to have made a deal worth €49m for Van de Beek.

Van de Beek – one of the hottest midfielders in Europe

Van de Beek remains as one of the few brightest prospects left in the Amsterdam-based outfit while the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech have secured their moves to Europe’s top clubs. Several clubs came calling for the 23-year-old last summer, but he decided to stay put at Ajax. 

Like how he was influential for Erik Ten Haag’s side in the 18/19 campaign – Ajax went on to reach the semi-finals of UCL – Van de Beek continued his brilliant form this season despite his side facing a premature exit from the Champions League. The Dutch international has racked up 10 goals and 11 assists in all competitions for Ajax in the recently-concluded season, taking his tally to 27 goals and 24 assists in the last two seasons combined.

Would van de Beek a good signing for Man Utd?

While midfield reinforcements remain one of the objectives in the transfer window for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Van de Beek is too good to be left by any of the clubs as his numbers speak for himself. Having been previously deployed as an out-and-out attacking midfielder, the Dutch prodigy has also now adapted to the No.8 role ( one of the double pivots) – playing more than on 20 occasions this season.

Van de Beek also doesn’t compromise with his defensive duties either, averaging 2 tackles and around 1 interception per game this season. His biggest strengths are his willingness to run at both ends (thanks to his good engine), passing ( short and line-breaking ones) and an eye for creativity – averages 1.8 passes per game with a pass success percentage of 82.2 percentage. 

Given his quality and impressive numbers, Van de Beek would be an upgrade over the fringe players like Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard and Andreas Pereira.

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