Donny van de Beek to Manchester United was, in some ways, a sensible transfer. The £35m fee was a fair price without being exorbitant. A strong relationship with Ajax meant that negotiations were concluded relatively quickly. Even the official announcement of the transfer earned some of the most engagement of any tweet from United’s official account last season, more than that of Edinson Cavani’s arrival the same summer.
There was just one problem: where exactly was Van de Beek going to play? Was he a No 10? United already had the indispensable Bruno Fernandes in that position. In which case, could he be an eight? Perhaps, but United did not play with eights. Then he could be a six, breaking up Fred and Scott McTominay’s much-maligned holding midfield partnership? Maybe, but his best performances at Ajax had come further up the pitch.
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