Donny van de Beek made his unofficial debut for Manchester United. The midfielder took part in the friendly match against Aston Villa on Saturday, who walked off the field as the winner thanks to a goal by Ollie Watkins: 1-0. The exhibition match in Birmingham was decided and not even for the media to follow live. Only after the end of the game does a live stream appear on the Manchester United website and everyone can judge the performance of the team of manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer.

Van de Beek was on the field for ninety minutes and impressed Solksjaer. He even mentions Orange International on the club website perhaps the biggest plus in the outfield. ‘Donny was perhaps the greatest asset in the field. He is great at finding spaces and creating time for himself with his timing and movement. I am very satisfied with his performance “, emphasizes the manager.

Manchester United first announced the series in a preview on the livestream, which was also placed behind a pay wall. Van de Beek was next to Scott McTominay in midfield, both behind number ten Marcus Rashford. The attack was formed by Jesse Lingard, Odion Ighalo and Daniel James. Timothy Fosu-Mensah took the middle shift at the back with captain Harry Maguire.

Rio Ferdinand expects Van de Beek to play a more offensive role this season than on Saturday, although the former Ajax player was also able to do his characteristic running action in the system against Aston Villa. ‘Look, if you said you were going to field the best players in midfield and you had to pick three, I would put Paul Pogba as controller and I would let Van de Beek and Bruno Fernandes play a somewhat freer role. So that they have more room to maneuver and create opportunities. ”

“Is this the best position for Pogba? I do not think so. But you have to look at what Solksjaer is doing. Does he want his best players on the field, or does he necessarily want his players to play in a certain system? “I’m very curious about it now that they’ve taken Van de Beek,” stressed the former Manchester United defender. Van de Beek gets a seven from the Manchester Evening News for his performance against Aston Villa. ‘Van de Beek claimed the ball and often emerged from his deep role in midfield. He was strong with the ball, although he went less deep in the second half. ”

Manchester United play their first Premier League game against Crystal Palace next Saturday. Solksjaer is not worried about the defeat. “We played well and created opportunities, especially in the first half. We were perhaps less focused and did not have endurance at this stage of preparation. Of course, it is important that we take advantage of our opportunities. For me, the result of today was not the most important. ”