Donny van de Beek pokes fun at Chelsea star

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Donny van de Beek is hoping he may get the nod to start for Manchester United this weekend with Fred suspended.

The selection decision lies with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Van de Beek is not going to spend his whole time stressing out over what is not beyond his control.

Instead last night he spent his down time watching darts, and poking fun at former Ajax teammate Hakim Ziyech in the process.

Van de Beek tagged Ziyech in a picture, pointing out that he had seen his lookalike on the television.

Will Van de Beek start this weekend?

With Fred out, United’s midfield options are reduced for the Newcastle game and subsequent Young Boys fixture in the Champions League.

Paul Pogba is most likely to take one midfield spot, but it is worth bearing in mind that he played three times during the international break.

If Pogba were to start the next two matches, he would have started five matches for club and country in less than two weeks, on top of the three he played for United in August.

Could United look to give Pogba a rest against Newcastle even with Fred out?

Van de Beek was effective alongside Nemanja Matic in the pre-season victory over Everton, which United won 4-0. And that was without Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani available.

Scott McTominay trained after injury this week and he could feature in one of the matches, although United may save him for the Champions League game.

Solskjaer will make the decision which is best for Manchester United, rather than pandering to the media talk about what is best for Van de Beek.

But hopefully this weekend is a scenario where what is best for United and what is best for Van de Beek can co-align.

The Dutchman deserves his shot, having not yet played a single minute this season during the opening three games. In a supporting role against a Newcastle side who will likely give United plenty of possession, Van de Beek could thrive.

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