Donny van de Beek not interested in offers to leave Man Utd
By Tom Gott
Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek has told his agents that he is not interested in listening to offers of a move away from Old Trafford.
A £35m signing from Ajax last summer, Van de Beek is a constant feature in the rumour mill after his debut season with United yielded just four Premier League starts, with plenty of reports suggesting he already wants to leave.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has always stressed that Van de Beek's time will come, and The Times state that the Dutchman is equally as optimistic about his future at the club.
Van de Beek is so determined to stay at United that, earlier in the summer, he told his representatives to not even bother letting him know about interest from elsewhere.
It is thought that his agents have received a number of proposals but each one has been rebuffed as per Van de Beek's orders.
The 24-year-old is still waiting for his first appearance of the new season, having been glued to the bench for United's opening two games, but both Solskjaer and Van de Beek remain convinced that he still has a role to play at the club.
“Whenever you don’t win a game you look at it but I always look at it as much when you win as well," Solskjaer said (via Goal) when asked why Van de Beek did not feature in the recent 1-1 draw with Southampton. “What could we have done differently?
“I thought Nemanja [Matic] was excellent, Antho [Martial] was close to scoring a goal but Jadon [Sancho] and Donny will be important for us.”
With competition for minutes in attacking midfield so tough - Van de Beek is battling Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood - there have been calls from fans to see the Dutchman deployed in a deeper role.
The tandem of Fred and Matic have attracted criticism for their lack of forward-thinking, so Van de Beek could find a new home there if Solskjaer is willing to give the Netherlands international an opportunity.
That's something that may appeal to the Dutchman, given reports he may be dropped from the national team over his lack of game time. A favourite under former manager Frank de Boer, Van de Beek is now facing up to life under Louis van Gaal - who is known for wanting to work with a smaller pool of players, rather than the 25 he's allowed to call up should he wish to.