Manchester United believe Real Madrid are the frontrunners to sign Donny van de Beek despite their interest, reports say. The 22-year-old has emerged as a top transfer target for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer amid his desire to strengthen in the middle of the park.
Manchester United boss Solskjaer is eyeing Van de Beek at a time where his current playmakers are struggling.
Jesse Lingard appears finished at Old Trafford. The England international, whose decision to hire Mino Raiola as his agent has sent alarm bells ringing throughout the club, has been nothing short of abysmal for the past year.
Lingard’s time at United took a turn for the worse on Tuesday night when he was hooked at half time in the club’s 3-1 Carabao Cup semi-final first leg defeat to Manchester City.
Juan Mata has been struggling too, with the Spain international clearly past his best.
And that’s why United are now eyeing a winter transfer deal for Ajax star Van de Beek.
They believe they’re in with a shot of landing the 22-year-old, particularly following the club’s exit from the Champions League.
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And the news report claims Van de Beek is sticking to his guns, with the midfielder deciding he’s eager to remain at Ajax for the time being.
United are willing to wait until the summer to get a transfer deal for the Ajax star over the line.
But their need for reinforcements now is patently evident.
Paul Pogba has missed most of the campaign through injury and is determined to secure a move to Real Madrid or Juventus.
He’s currently sidelined through injury, watching from afar alongside Scott McTominay.
And that’s left Solskjaer with just Nemanja Matic, James Garner, Andreas Pereira and Fred to call upon.
Meanwhile, Sky Sports transfer guru Kaveh Solhekol believes Van de Beek could move to Old Trafford due to the club’s excellent relationship with Ajax chief Edwin Van der Sar.
“The director of football at Ajax is Edwin Van der Sar,” he said.
“He, of course, used to play for Manchester United.
“He still has many friends at Old Trafford and I’m sure if they wanted to push the boat out to get Van de Beek, it could be crucial that they’ve got that relationship with Van der Sar.”