Van de Beek continues to be WASTED by Ole
Robin Bairner
- 20 Nov 2021 08:45 CST
- 3 min read
Donny van de Beek’s Manchester United prospects suffered another major blow on Saturday, when he was left out of the squad to face Watford in the Premier League.
Although not a habitual starter, this appeared as good a time as any for the Netherlands star to be used.
Not only was this game coming off the back of an international break in which he was not involved, it arrived off the back of the news that Paul Pogba could miss up to 12 weeks because of injury.
Pogba is considered to be one of Van de Beek’s major rivals in the Man Utd midfield, but instead of Van de Beek getting a rare chance to impress from the beginning, Solskjaer opted for an unimaginative combination of Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic.
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Solskjaer has admitted he will adopt a more defensive strategy in a bid to get more from his team, though to do so against an opponent struggling like Watford speaks volumes of where he is at presently.
Asked why Van de Beek was not involved from the start today, Solskjaer explained: “It boils down to a little bit of what has been happening on the training pitch but also the opposition we are playing against. We are facing a team with lots of pace and strength so that is why we went like we do.”
But even when Man Utd have been deployed in a more attacking manner, Van de Beek has been overlooked, begging the question when he could be used by Solskjaer.
Van de Beek’s increasingly peripheral status in the Man Utd squad means that he is one of a number of players hotly linked with a move away from the club.
Similarly starved of first-team football, despite significant success when given a shot, Jesse Lingard has increasingly dropped hints that he wants to move to West Ham.
It is adding up to a January headache for the increasingly under pressure Solskjaer, who could find Van de Beek demanding a winter move unless there is a dramatic shift of the Man Utd manager’s stance.
