Donny van de Beek’s transfer to Manchester United was confirmed earlier this week.
The move is an impressive one, with United abandoning pursuits of overpriced British players in the position, refusing to get drawn into paying over the odds for Jack Grealish or James Maddison.
Van de Beek cost a fee rising to £39 million, Sky Sports report, with £34.6 million of that up front.
So for reason of value, the move is a good one, but that is not the only reason it is a smart deal.
He’s fresh
Strategically it made a lot of sense for United to go after Donny van de Beek. He is exactly what this squad needs.
When football went into lockdown in March, a handful of leagues did not resume, and the Eredivisie was one of them.
So while Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba were playing twice a week in June and July, Van de Beek was resting up, on top of the break in late March, April, and May.
Van de Beek did play a handful of friendly games for Ajax over the past month, which has kept him sharp, but he has hardly been over exerted.
This freshness is precisely what United require, especially early in the season.
One of the reasons Van de Beek is so valuable is because he can deputise for both Bruno Fernandes or Paul Pogba, with his ability to play in more than one midfield role.
Both players will need to be rotated amid a busy fixture schedule. Pogba and Fernandes have had very short summer breaks, and United will be aware this season is a marathon and not a sprint, with a real need to sensibly manage the workload of the club’s key stars.
Van de Beek’s freshness is vital, and his high-energy playing style will give United the timely boost this squad needs early on.
There are other fresh players too, like Scott McTominay, who barely featured in the second half of the season, and while Van de Beek offers more from an attacking perspective, both could play important roles.
It made a lot of sense for United to look outside the Premier League this summer, and make a move for a player from a league which had finished early.
Signing an all action midfielder like Van de Beek is the perfect way to prepare this team for the rigours of the intense 2020/21 schedule which lie ahead.
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