Burkina Faso
Czech Republic
Indonesia
Lithuania
Montenegro
Nigeria
North Macedonia

Manchester United

sportsmole.co.uk, 11 September 2022, 17:29
Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek believes that he and his teammates will only benefit from greater competition for places this season.

The Red Devils struck early summer deals for Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia, with Erik ten Hag wasting no time in bolstering his squad.

Man United then experienced a lull in the transfer market, though, as their lengthy pursuit of Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong failed to bear fruit.

Despite missing out on his former Ajax protege, Ten Hag welcomed Casemiro to the club to bolster his midfield options before the late arrivals of Martin Dubravka and Antony.

The Red Devils also lost numerous players on free transfers, as Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic and the retired Lee Grant ended their associations with the club alongside Andreas Pereira and James Garner.

Eric Bailly, Dean Henderson, Alex Telles and Amad Diallo were among those to leave on loan, but Van de Beek has nevertheless been left impressed with the Red Devils' strength in depth.

"That will help everyone. Having lots of options will keep everyone sharp, and for this we need lots of good players," Van de Beek told the United Review when asked about the team's summer business.

"I think it's great to play many games. I love it when we play after a few days [another] game. I prefer more to have games than training sessions, so definitely I like it!

"I know them already, as a player. Some of the players I played against - I played against Christian, against Casemiro as well, with Ajax. Licha [Lisandro], I played together with him.

"So I know what they are capable of and they are really good players, so they will help us for sure. They are nice people, but they are also team players. I think this is important, to work hard together. As people, they fit very well with the players we have."

Van de Beek earned his move to Man United in 2020 after bursting onto the scene under Ten Hag, but the Netherlands international is still struggling for starts in a Man United shirt.

Van de Beek has made three substitute appearances in the 2022-23 Premier League season - playing 19 minutes in total - and he has been sidelined with a knock for the past couple of weeks.

Nevertheless, the 25-year-old is optimistic that his fortunes will improve this season, adding: "I'm really working hard for it, so I'm positive. I'll do my best. The last part of last season, I was injured, so I missed a lot.

"I could feel that in the first few weeks of pre-season, but now I've started to feel better and better. So I'm really positive."

Van de Beek - who spent the second half of the 2021-22 season on loan at Everton - has scored two goals and set up two more in 53 outings for Man United since arriving two years ago.

The midfielder will hope to recover from his knock in time for Thursday's Europa League trip to Sheriff Tiraspol, with the Red Devils aiming to bounce back from their opening 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad in Group E.

Top News

7 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Seeking to pick up their first win of the 2025 Major League Soccer campaign, Colorado Rapids journey to the Q2 Stadium to take on Austin FC on Sunday morning. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea are supposedly running the rule over teenage Real Betis winger Jesus Rodriguez, who is starting to make a name for himself under Manuel Pellegrini. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Bayern Munich's quest to reclaim their Bundesliga crown continues on Saturday when they host strugglers VfL Bochum at Allianz Arena. 6 March 2025 talksport.com Jamie O'Hara's Tottenham Hotspur rants are becoming tiresome. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have reportedly expressed an interest in signing Aston Villa attacker Jacob Ramsey, who could cost the Citizens in excess of £50m. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen must win against Werder Bremen on Saturday at BayArena if they have any ambition of retaining their title. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk After a disappointing continental outing in midweek, Benfica return to domestic action this weekend as they host Nacional in round 25 of the Primeira Liga. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal's hopes of signing Joshua Kimmich from Bayern Munich are reportedly over, as the Germany international is said to have reached a verbal agreement over a new contract with the Bundesliga leaders. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City's top scorer Erling Haaland will be looking to add to his tally when the Citizens travel to the City Ground to take on top-four rivals Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Borussia Dortmund will hope to continue their late push for European football when they host Augsburg at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday in the Bundesliga. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Braga have the opportunity to draw level on points with Porto when both sides face off in this weekend's high-profile clash of Primeira Liga round 25. 6 March 2025 talksport.com It's all been a bit too much for Paulo Fonseca. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk European hopefuls Wolfsburg welcome relegation-threatened St Pauli to Volkswagen Arena for a Bundesliga contest on Saturday afternoon. 6 March 2025 talksport.com Jose Mourinho only needs a single word for media gold. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two Premier League teams harbouring realistic aspirations of securing European football for next season do battle at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon as Brighton & Hove Albion play host to Fulham. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has delivered an update on Dominic Solanke following his enforced withdrawal in their 1-0 Europa League loss to AZ Alkmaar. 6 March 2025 talksport.com If fans thought a 48-team field for the next FIFA World Cup was large enough, they'd better think again. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has suggested that switching Reece James to a central-midfield position had been long in the making ahead of the 2-1 victory over Copenhagen in the first leg of their Conference League last-16 tie. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Sociedad on Thursday evening in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 clash away in Spain. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk AZ Alkmaar secured an important advantage in the first leg of their Europa League tie with Tottenham Hotspur after a 1-0 win over the Premier League side at the AFAS Stadion. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea extended their perfect Conference League record as they defeated Copenhagen 2-1 on Thursday night, giving the Blues the advantage heading into next week's second leg. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk After seeing their unbeaten streak come to an end, Antalyaspor will look to respond immediately when they host Caykur Rizespor in the Turkish Super Lig on Saturday. 6 March 2025 talksport.com Robin Propper was forced out of Rangers' Europa League 3-1 win over Fenerbahce through injury, but not because of an opponent, but a teammate. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk After seeing their unbeaten streak come to an end, Kayserispor will look to bounce back immediately when they host Istanbul Basaksehir in the Turkish Super Lig on Saturday. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Having suffered yet another defeat on their travels, Trabzonspor will be eager to capitalise on home advantage when they welcome Hatayspor to Papara Park on Saturday, aiming for an immediate response. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool and Manchester United have reportedly learned how much it will take to sign Bayern Munich-linked Angelo Stiller from Stuttgart this summer. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Both aiming to end winless runs, Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield Wednesday will do battle at Home Park on Saturday. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal youngster Ethan Nwaneri is reportedly being considered for a potential international call-up by new England boss Thomas Tuchel. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two teams inside the La Liga relegation zone will lock horns for a huge game on Saturday evening, with Valencia welcoming Real Valladolid to Mestalla. 6 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Fourth-bottom Parma could slip into the bottom three in Serie A this weekend if they are unsuccessful in Saturday's gameweek 27 contest with Torino at Stadio Ennio Tardini and results elsewhere go against them.