Solskjaer makes Van de Beek U-turn after growing pressure

The Manchester United boss has made a U-turn regarding Donny van de Beek after there has been immense pressure to pick him recently.

After Manchester United failed to sign Jadon Sancho in the summer transfer window, Donny van de Beek was brought in as the marquee signing. The Dutch midfielder had a breakthrough campaign in the Champions League a couple of seasons ago and was believed to be a major coup for the Red Devils.

It is safe to say things have not gone according to plan for the former Ajax man. On most occasions he finds himself warming the bench for United and it looks like he is starting to get frustrated with the situation if recent reports are to be believed.

There have been calls from the media in his country to make a switch if things don’t change at Old Trafford, including from Netherlands manager Frank de Boer. As a result, it would be a mistake to overlook the issue.

And it looks like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not, as he has promised to play the midfielder in the FA Cup third round tie and asked for patience. As reported by The Mirror, he said:

"“I’ve answered this question so many times. There are so many examples of players needing a little bit of time, quality players.“We have many examples ourselves and there are other clubs with examples. Sometimes it takes time. You don’t expect people who care for him to be quiet at times, especially when they want the best for them.“Donny is going to play tomorrow, that’s another chance for him. I’ve spoken to him and reiterated and made him aware of how much we rate him. But he’ll play tomorrow and that’s another good chance to kick on.”"

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To be very honest, he was probably going to play tomorrow anyway even if there was no pressure from the media. It is a FA Cup third round tie against lower league opposition in the form of Watford. If Van de Beek is not good enough to play in these games then the club might as well let him go.

On a serious note though, it is important to have some patience when it comes to the midfielder. You have to remember that he plays in a position where United already have a wealth of options. Not many players in the world can start ahead of Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba on current form.

The Frenchman is expected to leave the club in the near future though and that is probably when Van de Beek’s chance will come. Perhaps he was brought in with the plan already in place to give him a season to adjust to English football before unleashing him the following season.