Frenkie de Jong and Donny van de Beek were two of the stars of that season, along with central defender Matthijs de Ligt, but De Jong had already agreed to move to Barcelona.  De Licht would play for Juventus and a year later Van de Beck signed for Manchester United.

Ten Haag was the man who did it all – at least on the pitch – and now he followed Van de Beek to Old Trafford, although he will be hoping for more success than his compatriot. READ MORE: De Jong responds to United’s interest with a simple message The 52-year-old’s first move as United manager could be to reunite with De Jong. United have begun talks with Barcelona over a transfer and although they will not be held for ransom to rectify Barcelona’s financial problems, there is hope of a deal and reassurance that the player is open to a move. It will increase the exciting prospect of De Jong and Van de Beek thriving in the midfield for Ten Hag once again and the center of the pitch was the new coach’s top priority this summer. But while De Jong’s signing would be an important statement of intent for United, it does not necessarily mean that it will be good news for Van de Beek. The 25-year-old had a terrific time at Old Trafford under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick and would welcome the arrival of Ten Hag. He finished the season on loan at Everton and in just two years made just four Premier League appearances for United. There are places to be filled in the midfield this summer, with Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard leaving the club and Van de Beek will have the opportunity to impress in preparation, as will James Garner . However, Ten Hague, who is seeking a move for De Jong, shows what he considers to be the missing element in United’s midfield. There has long been the expectation that United will sign a midfielder this summer and while De Jong could play a profound role, he is not the kind of player to replace Matic and allow United to play a single pivot in 4-3. -3. Read more related articles Read more related articles What De Jong will bring is a significant improvement in United’s midfield passes, an area he has long lacked. He will fall deep to take possession, but he is not a midfielder who will stop the counterattacks on his own in the way of Rodri or Fabinho. United have not had control and stability in the midfield for the last two seasons, but solving both problems in one summer could have been a huge requirement. If De Jong arrives, he will provide control of the ball that Ten Hague valued so much in Ajax. It might be instructive to look at how this midfield was created to see how it might work at Old Trafford. It was essentially a 4-2-3-1, with De Jong working with Lasse Sonne as a deep midfielder and Van de Beck playing in front of them, perhaps more as No. 8 than the No. 10 genre he preferred Solskier. Bruno Fernandes. If Ten Haag were to repeat that at United, De Jong would probably work with someone like Fred, offering a double shield when the ball bounces instead of relying on a world-class defensive midfielder. That would allow Fernandes to play the slightly more advanced role, although when United are in possession there will be flexibility. The point for Van de Beek is that he will let him compete with Fernandes again for this position. The Portuguese had a bad season, but has more than enough credit in the bank to maintain his place in the team. Van de Beek is much better at keeping the hold than Fernandes and may find that he still has more chances under Ten Hag than he has so far in his career at United, but it would be a brave decision to play as “double six” with De Jong, when both players like to come forward when they can. The balance of United’s midfield under Ten Haag may not be very different from that of Solskier and Rangnik, but the addition of De Jong could mean he is playing very differently. Subscribe to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.
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