It was a Talk Sport interview with Marcel der Kraan in June 2019 but it wasn't backed up by Mike Verweij who is the Ajax correspondent for De Telegraaf. Mike Verweij is the one i'd personally trust regarding Ajax news.
Donny Van De Beek
- Thread starter davidmichael
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Would be a brilliant signing imo. Leads me to believe its bs. We haven't made a quality midfield signing in ages.
Have to figure that like Herrera he'd be well worth the money over the long run, even if he's not a spectacular player.
I’m dreaming. This can’t be true.
One of my favourite players last year, he will come in and instantly change our midfield. Trust me.
One of my favourite players last year, he will come in and instantly change our midfield. Trust me.
Agreed. We don’t make logical and quality signings like this.
How good do you think he can be for us? What is the major change for our midfield in terms of what he brings as a player? I don't watch the Dutch league so that's why I'm asking.
Dont do this to yourself. It's just a media brief from Ed to cover up the loss against City.
I know, but it's interesting for me to see what the hype about this player is. I wasn't that much impressed with him in the CL.
I dont think this is the case anymore. Stones, Ducker and now reports from Holland. Too much smoke imo.
Do we have any Ajax fans on here who could write a short summary of him? I have seen him in CL a few times, but I cannot say I’ve been convinced or underwhelmed by him.
With the small sample size I have of watching he does not remind me of Herrera at all, but I can see him being the thought to be the replacement for him. A bit more of an attacking threat than Ander.
Is he really that good? I know that anyone would be a big improvement on what we have now squad wise but would he still be a starter next year even if we made more signings in CM?
When a player is described as versatile as opposed to gifted, explosive, hugely talented etc I feel it doesn't bode well. Then again I know feck all about this specific player.
Where will he play for us then?
We should sign both him and Soumare, one of them is not enough.
Real Madrid were interested in him, there's the possibility we are being used to get them to speed things up.
His versatility must make him a no brainer. He would immediately improve two positions while giving us options.
His versatility must make him a no brainer. He would immediately improve two positions while giving us options.
My personal view is ‘no’ on those questions. He isn’t the player we need . De Jong was the Ajax midfielder we needed last year, and someone of a similar mould would help us much more than some ‘barely even a midfielder at all midfielder’ like Donny. A young Wilshere kind of player is what we need most, a technical and hardworking central midfielder. VDB is almost a forward in how he plays, but he won’t help us control a game, and he will likely force Pogba deeper too.
I don’t really like the sound of that and it’s kind of what I saw too. A jack of all trades plugging away in a very good team....
I have lost all faith in our recruitment strategy. This lad was more gettable in the summer and we knew we were lightweight in midfield. We always seem to be running around putting out fires and fixing mistakes rather then being in any way proactive. I’d much rather we splashed on someone like Tonali and promised him first team football. He looks potentially top class (from the very little I’ve seen and read)
Well you're not a VDB a Ajax player, so thankfully we may stand a chance.
The best comment in this thread.
The bold part is slightly concerning though.
Overall,I'm on the fence.
We need quality and there's no doubt that Van de Beek has it but this does have a feeling of panic about it,imo.
Gerronwivit!
Wish we were in for a holding midfielder instead.
Not sure of the fit.
Not sure of the fit.
That doesn't good at all. And I've heard this about him before.
Really feel we need to focus on with genuine technical class and especially gifted passing ability in midfield
Pogba's probably off though. We need two midfielders at least, one holding (controller type) and one attacking.
We need versatile midfielders. We lack sqaud depth and he is the kind of midfielder that plugs holes during squad rotation. There's no point signing a big flash cm when we still have Pogba on the books because two many cooks spoil the broth. Its about finding players that compliment our existing squad either by adding depth or a bit of fire.
You need only look at every Sir Alex midfield. There's always one creative player alongside either 1 or 2 hard working individuals. Look at Chelsea with Kante and Jorginho or Bayern and Germany with Schweinsteiger and Kroos back in the day.
Having a midfield consisting of Kross, Modric and Casemiro or Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets is incredibly rare and the reason why both those two squads at the time won so much.
If you were going to add a flash midfielder to our squad right now, you'd need a Michael Carrick/Pirlo/Scholes post 2005 type of player.
I mean we need about 4 midfielders, so DvB replacing Lingard would be a fantastic start, even if he isn’t the total package ideal fit next to Pogba ( who we don’t even know will be with us next year).
I like how some are already writing him off because of the mentions of versatility and Jack of all trades. Correct me if I'm wrong but many here believe we made a mistake getting rid of Blind - and that was exactly his strength as well.
We need two midfielders if Pogba stays, and if he leaves, then we need a better player than VDB ideally to replace him.
Tbh we need to bin this 4-2-3-1 for a start. For me, we need a 6 to compete with Fred, and an 8 to compete with McTominay. If Pogba goes, we need to replace him too, but you can’t replace his creativity with some shadow striker who barely plays in the middle at all.
Are you fecking kidding me.....no youtube compilations?!
I remember some Ajax fans here were saying he's more of a centre midfielder being asked to play further up and that he's doing well but that's not his natural position. Or rather they saw his qualities/growth as a player best dictating play.
...Yeah he does sound a bit like Herrera in a good way.
So based on that third hand snippet and a few mins on youtube, I have now deducated he's actually a 8 with technique, work rate, intelligence and creavity. This could work because we need to be playing 3 proper midfielders. Fred, Pogba and VDB sounds fine to me. Defensively on the weak side, but can control a midfield/game with lots of quality on the ball.
OK I'M SOLD.
I need this hope
.
I remember some Ajax fans here were saying he's more of a centre midfielder being asked to play further up and that he's doing well but that's not his natural position. Or rather they saw his qualities/growth as a player best dictating play.
...Yeah he does sound a bit like Herrera in a good way.
So based on that third hand snippet and a few mins on youtube, I have now deducated he's actually a 8 with technique, work rate, intelligence and creavity. This could work because we need to be playing 3 proper midfielders. Fred, Pogba and VDB sounds fine to me. Defensively on the weak side, but can control a midfield/game with lots of quality on the ball.
OK I'M SOLD.
I need this hope
.Nope, going full muppet. He and Haaland will be....oh wait.
Don't really think Pogba is here for the long run anyway.
If we add more players for squad strengthening we'll saddle ourselves with numerous all rounders/grafters who aren't particularly excellent/gifted while having spent most of our budget too. Where will the passing quality, brains, vision, technical class etc come from in such a scenario? Well once again be left with zero playmakers and too many different types that aren't so - Mctominay, Fred, Periera, Matic, VDB.
Besides this chap is more of an AM isn't he. So Pogba is then supposed to be the playmaker in midfield? I hope not. Or is it Fred and Mctominay? Dreary.
Also I don't think 'flashy' was my suggestion. I don't know why anyone with technical class is considered flashy. Pogba is flashy. Scholes' was not. For me we need more players who can pull the strings and dictate a football match. We have here and there players in midfield but nobody who can pull it together and I actually feel we probably need two.
Anyway, this is isn't really that much about this fellow. Like I said I don't know much about him. But I sincerely hope the club has some interest in signing playmakers because in recent years it appears as though it's the last thing we look at in a midfielder which is set to continue.
From what I saw of Donny he's most like Herrera, closing down players, high energy style and joining in the attack.
He can also be in a 2 man midfield similar to how we've had McTom and Fred recently. Idealy I'd love us to go to a proper 433. We were best with Matic on form with Herrera and Pogba but not sure of a Matic replacement.
McTom, Fred and Donny might be too similar and we might best going for a holding type and a better 10 if we stick with this midfield 2.
I'd rather we did buy him though. I said so in the summer. We have to stop with this small squad mentality of stopping such and such a player from playing. We have tons of games, injuries, suspensions.
It's not just the fans. Ole loans out Smalling without trying him with Maguire. He was told he won't get the games by Ole so should move on. It's not like Smalling was some ever present and would've been the perfect player to give Maguire and Lindelof a rest or competition. He could've got as many games had we used the squad like Fergie. You need good backups and they end up getting a good run and everyone is happy and more chance of the team being successful.
McTom played too much as well and got injured. It's crazy just how thin our squad is and the mental block in improving the situation.
Our plan B is fecking Pereira and Jones who has been just sitting in the stands. If you have a better player than Jones you can have confidence in resting one and putting the other in. Our whole playing 11 is a time bomb and it's exploded 3 times in attack, midfield and defence 18 games in.
He can also be in a 2 man midfield similar to how we've had McTom and Fred recently. Idealy I'd love us to go to a proper 433. We were best with Matic on form with Herrera and Pogba but not sure of a Matic replacement.
McTom, Fred and Donny might be too similar and we might best going for a holding type and a better 10 if we stick with this midfield 2.
I'd rather we did buy him though. I said so in the summer. We have to stop with this small squad mentality of stopping such and such a player from playing. We have tons of games, injuries, suspensions.
It's not just the fans. Ole loans out Smalling without trying him with Maguire. He was told he won't get the games by Ole so should move on. It's not like Smalling was some ever present and would've been the perfect player to give Maguire and Lindelof a rest or competition. He could've got as many games had we used the squad like Fergie. You need good backups and they end up getting a good run and everyone is happy and more chance of the team being successful.
McTom played too much as well and got injured. It's crazy just how thin our squad is and the mental block in improving the situation.
Our plan B is fecking Pereira and Jones who has been just sitting in the stands. If you have a better player than Jones you can have confidence in resting one and putting the other in. Our whole playing 11 is a time bomb and it's exploded 3 times in attack, midfield and defence 18 games in.
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He would certainly be a massively useful asset in our current state. He's not a world-beater right now by any stretch, but I've seen enough of him streaming Ajax games to believe he would do well for us. I hope we can get this deal done ASAP and he settles quickly. There's still a real possibility we could get grab a top four place and hopefully Woodward can be convinced of that to sanction the deal.
Thats where you are wrong.
He is a good player and can play various roles centrally but he's not a elite player and most likely never will be. Personally I wouldn't pay more than £30m for him. But if we did sign him, he'd be a very strong squad player and would be a big upgrade on Lingard and Pereira in the #10/AM role.
Van der beek and Soumare would represent a excellent transfer window for us.
Van der beek and Soumare would represent a excellent transfer window for us.
I agree with you on this. I just wanted to add that Van De Beek's may not be an elite player but his in-game intelligence is something we will benefit from if he came here. He makes very smart runs, breaks up play and has a decent dribble on him. One of the main things the United team lacks is on field chemistry which is why our players end up being static and don't move into spaces. We need players like Van De Beek. Also, huge fan of Soumare as well. The both of them would definitely elevate the midfield instantly as well as resurrect our top 4 campaign. I think we need to start building now before Pogba leaves (which is inevitable)
Agree about his in game intelligence which is fantastic. Tactically he would be a dream for any coach.
We definitely need two midfielders. And VdB will be a class addition to our midfield. Ideally, I would like to see we go for VdB and Neves. Soumare would be a good addition too.
Mostly likely and hopefully Pogba, Lingard and Matic will leave in summer.
If we signed 2 during winter our midfield will comprise of
McT
Fred
VdB
Neves/Soumare
Mata
Pereira
Garner
Gomes
That is a good mix of midfielders to have.
If our budget allows we can add Madisson or Grealish in summer.
Mostly likely and hopefully Pogba, Lingard and Matic will leave in summer.
If we signed 2 during winter our midfield will comprise of
McT
Fred
VdB
Neves/Soumare
Mata
Pereira
Garner
Gomes
That is a good mix of midfielders to have.
If our budget allows we can add Madisson or Grealish in summer.
I know this season he has been playing deeper but last season he played as a #10 for Ajax and I think this is where we plan to play him. He's not someone who's gonna set the world alight, I'd say he's an improved version of Perreira, definitely has better decision making than him and chips in with goals as well.
But we will still need a proper CDM like Neves or someone of that ilk to be able to really control the midfield and see the best our of Van de Beek.
But we will still need a proper CDM like Neves or someone of that ilk to be able to really control the midfield and see the best our of Van de Beek.
If Pogba goes, and I'm not sure he will, we need a similar style of talent to come in. That list looks a bit bland and minus anyone with real star quality.