Manchester United fans have now got a reason to celebrate as the iconic club recently announced the signing of Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek on a five-year deal.
The Red Devils acquired the services of the 23-year-old from Ajax for a reported £40 million fee and considering how he has performed over the last couple of years, van de Beek is worth every bit of that sum.
He is one of the best young midfielders in the world at present and was a regular name in Ajax's starting lineup before making his move to the Old Trafford. However, with two of the world's best midfielders -- Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba -- already there with United, will van de Beek get enough game time at his new club?
📗 We can't wait to see what the next chapter holds! 😍#MUFC @Donny_Beek6 pic.twitter.com/Gskd6Ry8ob
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 2, 2020
The answer might be 'No' for the initial part of his journey with the Red Devils unless one of the two aforementioned players are forced to sit out due to injury. But that doesn't mean that the youngster isn't important to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's plans or Manchester United's future.
The last season showed that even though the club had great quality in their Starting XI, the attacking prospects in their bench looked absolutely thin. Look at clubs like Manchester City, Liverpool or Bayern Munich for example. Not only they have quality players as their first team material, but their bench boasts of some of the world's brightest talents as well.
They always have good replacements available whenever any of their first-team players get injured. Not only that, but they can also rotate the players to manage their workload and prevent long term injuries as well.
Dear @ManUtd,
— Edwin van der Sar (@vdsar1970) September 3, 2020
Enjoy the Future. ♥️#DreamLikeDonny pic.twitter.com/QVKS3Q0Snk
So van de Beek's role becomes very important from this aspect. Pogba is quite prone to injuries and that has always been a concern for Manchester United in the last couple of seasons. The former Ajax midfielder becomes the perfect asset to take the Frenchman's position in case of any fitness concerns.
Given his abilities of contributing both in attack and defence, it is safe to say he will seemingly fit alongside Pogba and Fernandes, completing a perfect setup for United in the middle of the park.
Moreover, if Pogba is to leave, the doors to United's starting XI will open up forever for van de Beek. And even if that doesn't pan out, he can always bide his time with the club as he is just 23 years old.
It's not that he won't be getting games at all towards the starting phase. Solskjaer will definitely look to rotate him in alternate matches to keep him in the action and lessen the workload on Fernandes and Pogba as well.
Van de Beek is capable of playing both as a No. 8 and No. 10 and that gives Solskjaer a lot of flexibility and cushion in his squad. That's exactly the reason van de Beek was brought to the Old Trafford and he will be eager to live up to the expectations.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / John Thys
