Sancho 100%
Donny van de Beek | van de Beek's father: "[Moving to United] a dream come true."
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For those who do not see the value that Van De Beek would bring to our squad.
As others have said, let’s not turn this into a Pogba thread.
All I’ll say again is, best numbers in assists and goals, yet apparently he is underwhelming- what then of the rest of the squad?
Nobody is telling me we are better off swapping him for this pair, as decent as they are. Decent being the key word.
I think he’s a very good player, just unsure how he’d fit in tactically
I really don’t understand the negativity.
Look at the bigger picture. Our ”new” season starts with 9 games in less then a couple of weeks. Pogba and Rashford is back from injuries. None of them will start every game three times a week and they will probably not even take part in more then 30-60 minutes the first few games after such a long rehabilitation.
Matic, Mata and Igahlo don’t have the legs to play more then one maybe two games a week. We don’t fully know about McTominay and his fitness. Martial needs to be handled carefully with his explosive playing style.
There will be plenty of minutes for VDB in almost every game in this short period and it will give our manager time to evaluate his qualities and see if he’s good enough to complement or if necessary replace Pogba or Matic.
When the 19/20 seasons ends it’s only a few weeks before the next season starts. There isn’t much room for implement new players in that period. So the most optimal time to buy new players is from now to our first game against Spurs.
Buying a proven quality midfielder like Van de Beek must be ideal in Ole’s situation. A well rounded midfielder with room for improvements. Versatile and with a top notch education from the Ajax academy. What is it more to ask for?
If the reports are to true then a fee below €40m must be a bargain in today’s market. If Real Madrid thinks he‘s good enough to compete with Kroos and Modric then I think he’s good enough to play alongside Fred or McT.
Look at the bigger picture. Our ”new” season starts with 9 games in less then a couple of weeks. Pogba and Rashford is back from injuries. None of them will start every game three times a week and they will probably not even take part in more then 30-60 minutes the first few games after such a long rehabilitation.
Matic, Mata and Igahlo don’t have the legs to play more then one maybe two games a week. We don’t fully know about McTominay and his fitness. Martial needs to be handled carefully with his explosive playing style.
There will be plenty of minutes for VDB in almost every game in this short period and it will give our manager time to evaluate his qualities and see if he’s good enough to complement or if necessary replace Pogba or Matic.
When the 19/20 seasons ends it’s only a few weeks before the next season starts. There isn’t much room for implement new players in that period. So the most optimal time to buy new players is from now to our first game against Spurs.
Buying a proven quality midfielder like Van de Beek must be ideal in Ole’s situation. A well rounded midfielder with room for improvements. Versatile and with a top notch education from the Ajax academy. What is it more to ask for?
If the reports are to true then a fee below €40m must be a bargain in today’s market. If Real Madrid thinks he‘s good enough to compete with Kroos and Modric then I think he’s good enough to play alongside Fred or McT.
If you think Van De Beek is an upgrade on Pogba then I would say yes, you don’t know football lad
Why do people hold Pogba to such high standards ffs yet allow turds to turn up and skive a wage, he’s played under more pressure than any player in his time here, and he’s gotten the best numbers. Simple as that mate.
In a fully functioning, talented side you see the Pogba of Juve and the Pogba for France at the World Cup who happened to be the leader in that team. But sure let’s trade him for Van De Beek just when we form a competitive side.
Anyway stop going off topic.
Alot of very reliable journos are linking us to quite a few players. Moxley is saying Grealish, Christian Falk is saying Havertz and Mike Verweij is saying we're in discussions with Ajax for VdB.
I think we're testing the waters on multiple fronts and from what Mike Verweij is reporting, we're actually negotiating for VdB. Maybe we've got wind that Bellingham has chosen Dortmund and have revised our strategy to sign VdB?
Transfer market has not yet opened dude!
VdB would be our best #6 if we signed him imo. And many Ajax fans also seem to agree.
Mate, the transfer market isn’t open. We aren’t going to be buying him and playing him now.
This is very likely to be the case.
Our interest shown in VdB is an interesting one, we may have ended our interest in Bellingham knowing that VdB became available as Madrid had pulled out of the deal, which may also suggest that we are open to offloading Pogba in the summer?
Dutch league has been scrapped this season right? Good chance their clubs are looking at ways to get money in whilst the most of Europe's leagues restart. Reckon they're trying to tempt bids and drum up prices.
I feel like VDB and Bruno may have better chemistry than perhaps Bruno and Pogba and as much as I like Pogba as a player, I just think we need to build a proper team and getting rid of Pogba, Lingard and Pereira is the way to go about it. Coincidentally, all three are our academy players but lack that United mentality which Bruno has and I can tell VDB has that sort of mentality as well.
You do realise we're still in the current season and the transfer window is closed? Right???
That's a name that's popped into my head a lot when thinking about a player to compare him with. Now Lampard was obviously an extremely talented player, I don't think DVDB is that talented and Lampard's career speaks for itself, so that's why I didn't dare to make the comparison.
But the similarity for me is that at first glance you see a guy who looks a bit slow and sluggish, maybe not that exceptional. But then you see him do some surprisingly technical things, display great vision, score goals, good shooting technique. So yeah, maybe he's a bit like a very poor man's Lampard.
It's interesting because I don't see this at all mate - but then again what the feck do I know. I just think he's the type of personality that fits perfectly with the traditional Fergie type of dressing room, unlike say Memphis Depay, who's not a bad dude but ultimately only cares about his own ego, being the most precious and important guy in a team, and being a real rich ballerrrr more than anything. Which on its turn gives me a little hope about United's scouting department, because we've bought so many players over the years who had talent but just didn't have the right type of attitude for this club, Van de Beek is definitely different, much more normal and down to earth and just willing to work extremely hard.
Other than the things you've mentioned I would say Van de Beek's stand out quality is his one-touch passing. I've seen him find solutions in situations where I was actually surprised by his inventivity, playing the most crispy one-two's, give brilliant one touch assists, even very nice one touch flicks. Of course I agree he's not a creative force like Ziyech, or even Tadic, or as naturally special as Frenkie, but still. I think he could definitely add something playing with guys like Rashford, Martial, Bruno, Fred.
I can see the Klaassen comparison to some extent, not Siem de Jong one though - that guy was a parody on a footballer when Ajax didn't play midtable Eredivisie teams. But I think he very clearly is a level above Klaassen in terms of talent. For what it's worth, I think Eriksen was a level above VDB as a #10 in terms of pure natural talent at Ajax, but Van de Beek might be more suited to play a more CM/#8 type of role than Eriksen, so he has a little bit more of being a proper allround option for any CM position going for him.
The quality of some of his goals is very high too, those goals against Juventus and I think Spurs, where he's one on one with the goalkeeper and instinctively does that little faint/dummy before calmly scoring the goal, you can't really train or teach that, that's just instinct and real talent. So yeah all things considered I think he's going to be an excellent player when he hits his prime.
Personally I would be quite surprised if he doesn't end up becoming a Wijnaldum level player. But then again Gini is turning 30 this year and he's in his absolute best years, Van de Beek isn't quite there yet. If he's bought with the expectation to be the best midfielder at the club within 2 years then you might be right about him being a rubbish signing. But if he's signed this summer to develop during the next few years and be a first choice midfielder in 2022 or 2023 when he's 25/26 then I think it would be a must-sign.
Can he play in the pivot role behind Bruno
Well in the most literal sense he could, and we should also not forget that formations can highly depend on the opposition and the set-up they use - if we're playing Brighton and they have injuries in midfield you can probably get away with a more adventurous/unlogical line-up than when you're playing Real Madrid in the semi's of the CL.
But I think his best performances at Ajax have been as the most attacking midfielder in a midfield three, running the most miles out of all players on the pitch while making penetrating runs and scoring goals. In that regard I really expected the Bruno transfer to mean that we wouldn't be in for Van de Beek because they are both at their best at the same position, which I found a pity because Van de Beek was both cheaper and younger but then Bruno started so good I stopped caring.
So yeah, I wouldn't instantly expect him to be ready to play in a pivot behind Bruno against strong teams, but he could definitely learn and improve and become a good option and play there against inferior opposition and maybe develop and be ready to play a deeper role in midfield in the future. He'll never be a tough tackling midfielder who just man marks a player for 90 minutes though.
On Gini, yeah I agree, but who would've ever imagined Wijnaldum would go on to be an important player in a team winning the CL. Even scoring those 2 goals against Barca (putting his career total on like, I dunno, 3?).
I think Vd Beek is, at least mentally can go much further than Depay, on the account lf not being a crazy person, but doubt he has the talent. Hope Im wrong though, he's a good dude and likable character.
I quite like him as a player but there's a lot of real basic stuff in here. 'Lets the ball roll across his body before shooting/crossing' accounts for three of these clips.
I've genuinely not seen one Ajax fan who's watched him regularly say that. All the comments I've seen about him is about how he can play as a #10 and #8 and that although he can play as a #6 he's wasted there as he's better going forward. He can do a job there but imo it would be wasteful to play him that deep.
Since Matic is our only #6 in our squad I would be disappointed if he wasn't better than him if our intention is to play him in the defensive role
There's plenty of Ajax fans on their forums who believe he should play deeper in a midfield with Pogba and Fernandes.
Despite playing that position 14 times out of his 175 appearances for Ajax? Doesn’t sound quite right.
That's because they had Frenkie and Schone occupying the deeper roles and also due to VdB being excellent for them in a advanced role.
With Fernandes at the club I don't see the need for signing VdB in a advanced role. Unless Solskjaer sees him as the utility player who he wants to bring into due to his multi-functionality in central positions which is a possibility. And it would give him the tactical flexibility with this signing and improve our squad from a strength in depth pov.
Fair enough but what you call basic is what we've lacked. From the time Bruno has started playing for us, he's got to tell people where to move or what positions to take up. VDB does not need to learn those things. We've lacked players with in game intelligence. All they possess is some talent when they are on the ball and even that they've failed to live upto. VDB is a team player. If we get the likes of Havertz or Grealish, they are gonna behave like divas which does not bode well for the team.
Yeah I guess we're going to find out in the next few years what Donny's ceiling is, maybe he'll turn out to be more of a player for the good old AS Roma/Napoli type of clubs, or maybe he won't even reach that level - I think there really is a player there though.
Regarding Wijnaldum, I agree that I wouldn't have thought he'd be a regular starter for the CL winner either, no way. At the same time maybe I should be critical and say we might have been sleeping on him a little bit and maybe should've really seen the signs.
If you break it down: he got his debut at Feyenoord aged 16, very few players get that, RVP was 18 for example. Then he was a 20 goals a season player for PSV from midfield when fit, again not many guys reach that number of goals from midfield for PSV. He also produced fine numbers despite relegating with Newcastle.
It's true he doesn't score much for Liverpool, their midfield tactics are clearly about balance and supporting the Mane/Salah/Firmino first and foremost, but like you say at the most crucial moment he popped-up with a brace in the semi's of the CL. Is that really a coincidence?
He's like the Dirk Kuyt of midfielders, constantly raising his game to a new level. Last year he went on to score 8 goals in like 5 matches for the Dutch NT from midfield - I'm not sure if even Sneijder himself ever had a run like that? Some of those 8 goals were against strong teams too I think. So maybe you can't say it was just lucky with him or such a big surprise when you break it down like this.
Yeah I would be happy with just Sancho as it would address a problem on our RW that has been lacking for at least seven years, in regards to other positions I am getting the impression we are looking more for a DLP who is good on the ball than a natural DM but I could well be completely wrong.
Maybe Pogba will stay and we still bring in Sancho and either Van Der Beek or Grealish, therefore we aren't downgrading in our midfield but I guess we will just have to see. What I will say is that these reports on both players are coming from sources with strong connections to their respective clubs in Verweij and Moxley.
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Intelligent player. You cannot have too many of these in your squad. Have to move away from thinking first 11.
As a squad player he’s an excellent signing. Fair price given his experience and versatility. He’s a Good age. Professional, strong mentally and won’t rock the boat if he’s not starting every game. He won’t be on huge wages. Signing him would also allow us to loan out Gomes Garner and Levitt with confidence that we won’t really miss them if there’s injuries. I reckon this means Bellingham is off to Germany though. I would have loved to watch another wonderkid develop here.
Would be a good buy at the right price.Hope it happens.
Would we bring both him and Bellingham in during the same window given the current situation?
There's a chance that this is a story planted to appease fans if Bellingham heads off somewhere else/we don't make any inroads on signings anytime soon.
There's a chance that this is a story planted to appease fans if Bellingham heads off somewhere else/we don't make any inroads on signings anytime soon.
Just curious with Pogba and this best players in the world in his position
Has he ever come close to winning a ballon Dor I mean do they have rankings if so where does he finish?
Agree, Pogbas close to winning that Balon Dor every year
Has he ever come close to winning a ballon Dor I mean do they have rankings if so where does he finish?
Agree, Pogbas close to winning that Balon Dor every year
VDS knows he’s off in the transfer window, he’s just drumming up interest. This is not VDS’ first rodeo.
If the interest is genuine (I don't actually think it is), maybe he's worth a punt at the right price.
Give it a rest, as others have said let’s not make this a Pogba thread.
Bump Pogba’s thread if you need reminding that no matter what you think of him he’s better than the people you ‘Like’ in the squad.
Think about that last sentence and revisit why it is you feel the way you do about him.
I don’t think Van Der Sar would use us like that.
Or better yet, we could buy a specialist for the deeper role. This is reminiscent of the suggestions to sign Adama Traore and Perisic as wing backs in the Mourinho days.
Maybe we’re letting them, to help get Madrid to hurry the feck up.
We could but Ole's at the wheel..
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