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Manchester United have been accused of ‘spending £ 40 million on a team player’ after reaching a deal to sign Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek.
The Premier League giants are understood to have agreed to a fee of between £ 35 million and £ 40 million to sign the Dutch international, with the 23-year-old’s father almost confirming the deal over the weekend, saying it’s a ‘ “ dream come true ”. for your son.
But former United academy player Micky Gray has questioned why the club has signed the Dutchman when they already have plenty of options in central midfield, including academy star Scott McTominay.
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Van de Beek has 41 goals in 175 appearances for Ajax
News of Van de Beek’s imminent arrival has sparked a debate about his possible role at Old Trafford.
Is it widely said that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has brought the Ajax ace into the club to play in a more defensive role to form a versatile three-man midfield with Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes?
However, this has been dismissed by a Dutch soccer expert, who told talkSPORT that Van de Beek is not a retention player and instead compared him to ‘Frank Lampard in his prime’.
Meanwhile, others have questioned what his arrival could mean for Paul Pogba, with former Premier League star Danny Murphy claiming it could be an indication that the World Cup winner ‘could be out’ this summer. .
But Gray believes that Pogba’s place will not be in jeopardy as Van de Beek will only be coming to the club for squad rotation.
And the former Red Devil has admitted he is ‘shocked’ that United have decided to spend that money on what he believes to be a squad player rather than a game-changing marquee signing, like Jadon Sancho.
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Van de Beek finished the Eredivisie shortened campaign with 14 goals and seven assists last season.
“It’s a big surprise to me that Man United opted for Donny van de Beek before they really tried to get Sancho back in or another star signing,” the former defender said on The Sports Bar.
“He is not the star signing that I thought Manchester United would really walk through the door first.
“Is it even a position they need? If you had asked me in the middle of last season, Matic was struggling, Fred couldn’t get close to the team, McTominay suffered that bad injury, I would have said ‘yeah, he’s a good signing’.
“But since then Matic has been outstanding, Fred has improved, but obviously he’s not in favor of Man United going forward, and McTominay has come back.
“I think McTominay will be around for the next five or six years, maybe even longer than that, and he can play that midfield role.
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Gray has questioned why Manchester United have spent £ 40 million on Van de Beek when they already have academy star McTominay.
Donny van de Beek not coming to Man United to play CDM – Dutch pundit Marcel van der Kraan talks about where £ 35m signing at Old Trafford will fit
“That is the position for which they bought Van de Beek. He is 23 years old, he scored ten goals last season, he is 1.80 m tall and he is a very good signing… as a substitute.
“That’s what really amazes me, that’s where football is right now, they’re buying a team player for £ 40 million.
“I think the first Man United window signing should have been the one that got everyone talking, that star signing, like a Sancho, a player who could have taken them from third to first in the league.
But Van de Beek is not going to change much at Manchester United as a midfielder.
“I think it will be a good signing for Manchester United, but it is not the signing that everyone was waiting for.
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