Donny van de Beek’s agent Guido Albers has admitted that the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United could be bad news for his client.
In an interview with Ziggo Sport, Guido Albers, the agent of Donny van de Beek has admitted the fact that his client could drop further down the pecking order at Manchester United after the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo. He has offered further insights on the midfielder’s situation at Old Trafford and why he ended up staying at the club.
Albers’ comments come just a week after the end of the summer transfer window, when Manchester United caused quite a scene by securing the return of Ronaldo. And while fans were understandably delighted with the Portuguese international’s acquisition from Juventus, the move did not bode well for some of the players.
Daniel James was shipped to Leeds United on deadline day, and a similar fate was on the card for van de Beek. Goal has recently published Albers’ quotes from the interview with Ziggo, where the Dutchman has admitted the arrival of Ronaldo forced him to find a new club for his client.
“Cristiano arrived on Friday which we knew was bad news for us. Pogba plays on the left, and with Cristiano’s arrival it means another extra player in midfield, with Pogba moving away from the left,” said Albers, who went on to explain the midfielder’s exact situation during the deadline amid links with Everton.
“We had conversations with Solskjaer and the board. We took the initiative to find a club and our search ended up at Everton. We opened talks with Marcel Brands and Farhad Moshiri. On Monday night [before deadline day] we received a call from Solskjaer and the club who told us that a transfer was out of question and that he had to report himself to training the next morning,” he added.
Solskjaer’s decision to block van de Beek’s transfer remains questionable given the fact he already has a lot of depth in the attacking midfield position, having managed to keep hold of Jesse Lingard. Not to mention, the Dutchman started in only four league games last term.
Albers, though, has offered hope for van de Beek for the new season, citing talks with Solskjaer where he has claimed that the midfielder is going to be given a more prominent role in the starting eleven.
“The perspective now is that we stated that Donny is not a Carabao Cup player, or FA Cup player, or to play only in European games. Donny went to England to play in the Premier League. The way the conversation went this time [with Solskjaer] compared to last summer… things are much more clear now. I have full expectations that Donny will get his chance now,” revealed Albers.
It should serve as exciting news for van de Beek. But whether or not Solskjaer will truly live up to his promise remains to be seen, as it is quite an unlikely scenario due to Manchester United’s depth in the creative department. A lot will be decided over the next four weeks, with United set to resume their campaign with a home game against Newcastle this coming weekend.
