United Review studies how Donny van de Beek became a fan favourite at Ajax

The bloodied nature of his first senior goal in December 2015 immediately cemented Donny’s place in supporters’ hearts, and after bursting to prominence midway through 2015/16, the following term marked his ascension to first-team regularity. A solid campaign in 2016/17 ended with a substitute’s role against United in the Europa League final, but it was in 2017/18, his second full term, that Donny’s career went into overdrive.

Goals began flowing at an eye-catching rate, with 13 in 39 games marking the first of three straight seasons in which Donny reached double figures. His haul of 17 in 57 during the course of 2018/19 was a major contributing factor as Ajax won the Eredivisie title for the first time since 2014 and were seconds away from reaching the Champions League final. Donny’s goals at Juventus and Spurs in the quarter and semi-finals respectively underlined his ability to thrive on the biggest stages.

But for the abandonment of the 2019/20 Dutch season due to the coronavirus pandemic with Ajax atop the table, van de Beek was in line for his second league winner’s medal. Allied to his involvement in the latter stages of both the Champions League and Europa League, his experience of chasing top honours was extensive even before his 23rd birthday. Despite being repeatedly linked with both Real Madrid and Barcelona in recent transfer windows, it was United who swooped decisively earlier this month. Although, on first glance, the Reds’ midfield ranks had already been hugely bolstered by the January arrival of Bruno Fernandes, the return of Paul Pogba and the renaissance of Nemanja Matic (not to mention fine campaigns for Fred and Scott McTominay in 2019/20), van de Beek’s adaptability makes him an extremely shrewd acquisition.