Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek placated fans when he announced that he was happy to stay with the Amsterdam giants despite overtures from some of Europe’s elite clubs desperate to hire him. But the Sons of Gods supporters — as well as the sporting powerbrokers at the cub — are coming to terms with yet more speculation surrounding the versatile 22-year-old ace.
Van de Beek Ajax was widely rumoured to have already penned a deal to move to Spanish giants Real Madrid but said in January he was happy to stay for another season with Erik ten Hag’s side. Many thought his words were acting as some sort of smokescreen to deflect any potential criticism of the player.
He said back at the start of the year:
“I have said it before, and I will say it again: I will remain at Ajax this season. And maybe next season as well. These reports about Real Madrid or Manchester United are a good sign, but it is not important now. I’ve said I will stay at Ajax and I will do so for 100 per cent.”
And for a period, the issue seemed to fade away. But not for long. Now it is being reported in various media outlets that Premier League big boys Manchester United are trying to get the Dutch schemer to switch to Old Trafford in the summer. Ajax face the perennial problem of clubs with bigger budgets snaffling their talent but, all in all, they are well recompensed for their players and it doesn’t seem to hinder their progress in terms of success on the pitch.
The Ajax production line keeps on moving and more and more talent emerges from it.
United and Madrid will battle it out for the midfielder whose versatile nature is a big attraction. He can ply his trade with comfortable ease as both an attacking playmaker and as part of a three-man middle-of-the-park combo. His undoubted talent means that he has good numbers for this season — before the suspension of the Eredivisie due to the outbreak of the pandemic coronavirus, he had bagged ten goals and also made 11 assists in this season.
Meanwhile, Ajax and USA ace Sergino Dest has done nothing to quell talk of him joining Bayern Munich in the summer – after confirming the German giants’ interest in snapping him up. It is said that the young star made a trip to Munich last month to see Bayern beat Hoffenheim 4-3. There was lots of speculation about the visit when it happened, but Dest was quick to point out that he was not actually invited by the club.
But he did hint at their interest in him when he said:
“I was there because I have family in Munich. So, I thought, ‘If Bayern are interested then I also want to find out a bit about the club’. I thought it would be a good idea to check it all out. But I wasn’t invited by Bayern like it was speculated. I wasn’t invited by Bayern.”