Friday, July 23, 2021 at 09:48• Chris Meijer

Donny van de Beek’s first season at Manchester United was extremely disappointing, but the Manchester Evening News writes that the situation of the 24-year-old midfielder may soon turn. According to the regional newspaper, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will overhaul his system. Within this new formation, Van de Beek is regarded as a ‘wildcard’ within the selection.

Van de Beek didn’t do much in his first season at Manchester United. The midfielder has made 36 appearances for Manchester United so far, 15 of which as a starting player and in which he accounted for 1 goal and 2 assists. He has recently been linked to a departure from England, as Barcelona would be interested. However, Van de Beek’s role at Manchester United is not over yet, the de emphasizes Manchester Evening News.

The newspaper points out that Ruben Días, Timo Werner, Thiago Alcântara and Kai Havertz, among others, also needed time to find their place in England. The corona pandemic and associated measures made it difficult for players to create a good relationship with fellow players, despite the fact that Van de Beek gets along particularly well with Nemanja Matic. Moreover, the cutthroat schedule made it difficult for him to work extra on the training ground on the aspects demanded of him in the Premier League and within Solskjaer’s system.

There is now plenty of time for that in the preparation and the fact that Solskjaer wants to change his system from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 due to the imminent arrival of Raphaël Varane can turn out to be advantageous for Van de Beek. With a central duo consisting of Varane and Harry Maguire, the Norwegian manager would like to replace the defensive midfielder – last season that was Fred, Scott McTominay or Matic – in his system and play with two ‘dynamic numbers 8’ behind attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes . In that case, Paul Pogba and Van de Beek should form a midfield together with Fernandes.

The Manchester Evening News emphasizes that there is a make or break seasonbreak arrives for Van de Beek. The midfielder is keen to stay with Manchester United, despite interest from Serie A, LaLiga and the Bundesliga. It is warned that Van de Beek is unlikely to get a third chance at Manchester United. His contract at Old Trafford runs until mid-2025 and includes an option for an extra year.