Erik ten Hag is almost at the end of his first working week at Manchester United, and it seems as though his assistant is already liking what he sees in Donny van de Beek.
United began pre-season training on Monday, and it was the first chance for new boss Ten Hag and his team to meet their new squad and begin to implement their measures. It would have been a first for many United stars who are getting used to another change of leadership, but for Van de Beek it was a trip down memory lane.
The Dutchman has been somewhat of an outcast ever since joining United from Ajax in 2020, but is expected to be unleashed again under Ten Hag. And assistant Mitchell van der Gaag has already been overheard praising the midfielder.
Footage of United's early training was released this week, and Van der Gaag was heard shouting: "Yes, Donny. Good work. Good work, Donny." The comment occurred during a high intensity passing drill, which seemed like a breeze for the Dutchman.
Almost 30 United players were out on the training pitch with Van de Beek, with the international stars set to join up with their team-mates for July 8. United fly out to Thailand and Australia for their pre-season tour, and it will be the perfect chance to impress the new boss.
Van de Beek will still have to prove his worth, but he will have some security due to his previous involvement with Ten Hag. The midfielder was one of the stars in his talented Ajax side that reached the semi-finals of the Champions League back in 2019.
Frenkie de Jong, Hakim Ziyech, Matthijs De Ligt and van de Beek were all discovered as a result of Ajax's exceptional European run, although there has been mixed success since they all completed moves to elite sides around Europe. Ziyech has been in and out of the Chelsea team, and is currently linked with a move to AC Milan.
Should he move, he would face former team-mate De Ligt when lining up against Juventus, and if De Jong stays at Barcelona there's every possibility they could meet in the Champions League. But De Jong has been linked with a move to United to join Ten Hag and Van de Beek, although he doesn't seem keen on leaving the Nou Camp.
But out of the four, Van de Beek has had the worst time since leaving the Netherlands, and under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick has struggled to be considered. It even resulted in a January loan move to Everton, which the Dutchman attempted to force through the previous summer.
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Van de Beek was rumoured to be leaving this summer, but Ten Hag's arrival has changed that as the Dutchman is happy to see how things go for one more season under his former boss. It's been a nightmare two seasons for Van de Beek, but that could all be about to change.
And it's not as if there are too many options ahead of him, as United let go four first-team midfielders this summer. They released Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata as their contracts all expired.
They are yet to sign a replacement, and Van de Beek could have a big role to play next season. All eyes will be on United's opening day game against Brighton to see how Ten Hag lines up.
