Man United fans to have prayers answered? Major midfield shake-up touted for Watford clash
Multiple sources in the English media on Thursday have pointed towards a rare start for Donny van de Beek in Manchester United’s meeting with Watford this weekend.
VDB’s tantrum
The name of Dutch international van de Beek has of course taken centre stage at Old Trafford once again of late.
Unfortunately for the 24-year-old, however, this has been for all the wrong reasons.
Van de Beek has endured another frustrating couple of months to open the campaign, restricted to just a pair of starts across all competitions.
In turn, after being overlooked once again as Manchester United went in search of an all-important winner against Villarreal late in September, it came as little surprise when, finally, the former Ajax man allowed his emotions to get the better of him.
VDB was first spotted throwing his bib on the ground, before launching chewing gum at the home dug-out at Old Trafford, as Jesse Lingard and Fred prepared to enter the fray:
“Donny van de Beek will look for assurances of where he stands at Manchester United after his frustration at not playing boiled over during the Champions League victory against Villarreal,” reports @mcgrathmike. https://t.co/90wXW7wVec
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) September 30, 2021
Watford start?
This outburst, in turn, led to fresh, and altogether inevitable speculation surrounding van de Beek’s future in Manchester.
In fact, for the very first time, reliable word was forthcoming that the Dutchman has now set his sights firmly on a new adventure ahead of the January transfer window.
As outlined above, however, on Thursday, a potentially major development in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s efforts to appease his increasingly frustrated midfield star has been revealed.
This comes in the form of the revelation that van de Beek could be in line for a shock starting berth this weekend.
As per reports from both The Athletic and The Mirror, the coaching staff on the red half of Manchester are giving serious consideration to making use of VDB’s talents from the off at Watford on Saturday, as United return to Premier League action on the back of the international break.
This comes owing to a pair of factors: the 24-year-old impressing in training across the week to date, and the long-term injury suffered by Paul Pogba whilst away with France.
One of Fred or Scott McTominay is expected to drop to the bench, handing van de Beek a long overdue opportunity to showcase his talents across 90 minutes in the English top-flight.
🔴 Who in the #MUFC hierarchy has the final word on Solskjaer’s future?
🔴 What exactly is going on with Donny van de Beek?
🔴 Why do Man United find it difficult to sell players?@lauriewhitwell’s latest mailbag covers these topics and more…https://t.co/c2p04ZS6lz pic.twitter.com/rz5wbpyH65— The Athletic UK (@TheAthleticUK) November 18, 2021
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