Transfer deadline day swoops can often be rushed affairs but Donny van de Beek’s switch to Everton is actually a deal with roots stretching back over five months.
It just taken some fresh input from a couple of key individuals to help push it to the brink of completion.
First and foremost there was Everton’s new manager Frank Lampard who, even though he had yet to be officially confirmed in the position, pressed hard for Van de Beek from the moment he was offered the job.
At first it looked like some family connections would see the 24-year-old heading to south London for the remainder of the season with Dennis Bergkamp, the father of Van de Beek’s partner Estelle having contacted his ex-Arsenal team-mate Patrick Vieira to try and persuade him to take the player to Crystal Palace.
Vieira, himself like Lampard a former central midfielder, was extremely eager to land the Dutchman and despite interest from Valencia too, less than a week ago he looked bound for Selhurst Park but as soon as Lampard entered discussions, the tide turned dramatically, leaving the Eagles’ plans in tatters.
When he was still director of football at Everton, another of Van de Beek’s compatriots Marcel Brands had tried to lure him to Goodison Park last summer when there was another deadline day attempt to sign him on loan.
An agreement was almost reached but ultimately the then Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided he did not want to let him go.
There are still high hopes for Van de Beek at Old Trafford with the Reds Devils having splashed out £35million on his services in 2020 – hence there being no option to buy – and for his parent club the ideal scenario is that the player builds up his Premier League minutes at Everton and returns to them a more accomplished performer in the English game next term.
Memories of Van de Beek’s impressive displays for Ajax in the Champions League, including the goal that gave them a 1-0 away win over Tottenham Hotspur in the 2019 semi-final first leg and the 4-4 draw with Lampard’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the following season’s group stage, still loom large in the minds of United chiefs.
Indeed, Van de Beek has shown himself as the kind of player who can rise to the big occasion with two of his three goals for the Netherlands national team coming against Italy and Spain (although the other was against far less illustrious opposition in the shape of Gibraltar).
While he’s only netted one goal in both of his two seasons with the Reds Devils so far, he was prolific over his last three campaigns at Ajax, hitting double figures in all of them.
Who better to learn under then than the old master Lampard, the leading goalscoring midfielder in Premier League history?
The new Blues boss stands fifth on the Premier League’s all-time scoring list with 177 goals, netting double figures in all competitions on no fewer than a dozen occasions in England and he even broke the 20-goal barrier in five straight seasons between 2005/06-2009/10.
For context, former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, now in charge at Aston Villa, is the only other non-striker in the top 20 (in 19th place on 120 goals).
Van de Beek felt a sense of loyalty to Everton given their previous pursuit of him but Lampard’s eagerness to snap him up tipped the scales distinctly in their favour.
The player had been back in Amsterdam training in recent days and with plenty of friends still at Ajax, it’s understood that Everton are still held in high standing and with particular affection by influential figures there.
Forget the vindictive, self-pitying nonsense that has come out of the mouth of a bad apple like Andy van der Meyde.
Despite being the master of his own downfall when flopping in England, he once branded Everton “a s*** club” when telling Anwar El Ghazi not to join them but it obviously didn’t stop the Aston Villa man from also arriving on loan this January.
There are far more sensible and respected voices still employed by the Amsterdam giants, namely Everton’s 2011/12 player of the year John Heitinga, now head coach of Jong Ajax, the club’s ‘reserve’ team who play in the second division in the Netherlands, and he is someone who recalls his time at Goodison Park was great fondness and is believed to have encouraged Van de Beek that the Blues could be ideal for him as he looks to re-launch his career.
A new era for Van de Beek, Lampard and Everton as a whole is now rapidly taking shape.
