Attracting Donny van de Beek is a good move by Manchester United, Edwin van der Sar expects. The general director of Ajax says in an interview on the official website of the Red Devils that the multifunctional Van de Beek fits in well with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team; Van der Sar even compares the midfielder with club legend Paul Scholes of Manchester United.

“He’s capable of several positions in midfield. He can play as number six, eight or ten”, sums up the former goalkeeper of Manchester United. “He’s got a nose for the goal, excellent technique and goes from stall to stall. I’d compare him to Scholesyalthough Scholesy also a great distance shot in the legs and that’s not really Donny’s specialty. He’d rather come into the penalty area to contribute his goals.” Van der Sar played six years with Scholes, who played a total of 499 Premier League duels for Manchester United. He knows better than anyone the status of the former midfielder at Old Trafford.

“Maybe it’s not fair to have him with Scholesy to compare,” he adds. “But I’m sure he’s a good addition to the team that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is putting together at Manchester United.” Ajax received at least 39 million euros for Van de Beek, an amount that can still reach 44 million euros. According to Van der Sar, it’s unfortunate but logical that Ajax will say goodbye to his star players. “Our league is not as strong as the biggest five leagues in Europe, so we allow players to take the next step, after they have given everything for our club and won prizes here,” he explains.

“We are honest with players, their families and business associates to find the right path for the player’s sporting development to reach the highest possible level. At some point his level is so high that other clubs want him. That’s how it goes in the Netherlands”, the director of Ajax realizes. “If we lose our best players, we have to rebuild the team. You can replace a player with a top player. That’s the difference between Manchester United and Ajax. Of course, it’s also a ‘good’ thing to ‘lose’ players, because you can give young players, who may be wondering if they can still get in, a chance”.

That’s how the system keeps running, says Van der Sar. He is used to seeing players come and go; besides Van de Beek he also mentions Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong and Hakim Ziyech as players he ‘of course’ would rather keep. “Because with that we have a better chance of success in Europe”, he says. De Ligt and De Jong left a year ago for Juventus and Barcelona respectively, while Ziyech switched to Chelsea this summer. “For their development they are taking a step towards a top league. It’s a compliment for our trainers, the youth training and for everyone who invests time in the development of the players”.