How Manchester United can include Donny van de Beek in their starting XI

Bengaluru, January 11: Expectations were quite monumental from Dutch international midfielder Donny van de Beek when Manchester United signed him from Ajax in the summer for a fee around £40 million.

Regarded as one of the best young midfielders in the world, the 23-year-old was expected to become a key player at Old Trafford upon his arrival but things have not quite worked as planned as the technically gifted star has struggled for first-team opportunities.

While Van De Beek has made 21 appearances for the Red Devils in all competitions so far, the majority have come from the bench and the midfielder has so far only made two Premier League starts.

And, a section of the Red Devils fanbase and even some former player have started pointing their fingers at manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for not being able to use such a gifted midfielder who has the ability to become a world class footballer.

To be fair to Solskjaer, giving the 23-year-old regular first team opportunities is not an easy task by any means. Every manager has some tactics which he prefers to use more often and for Solskjaer, it is 4-2-3-1.

And, the position in which Donny van de Beek is a natural in this system is the number ten role and in that area, he already has Bruno Fernandes who has been one of the best players in the Premier League since his arrival at the club back in January 2020. Therefore, there needs to be a change in formation if Solskjaer has to use both Fernandes and van de Beek.

Very few expected Manchester United to be in the title race this season due to a number of reasons and Solskjaer deserves all the plaudits for the job he is doing at Old Trafford. But in terms of quality and depth of the squad, the Red Devils are no match to the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City or even Chelsea.

They lack quality on the flanks, particularly the right, but an area where the Red Devils have both options and quality is in the middle of the park and for that reason, Solskjaer could consider a formation that brings the best of his options in midfield.

If Solskjaer shifts to a 4-4-2 diamond formation, he can not only accommodate both Bruno Fernandes and Donny van de Beek at the same time but can also make room for Paul Pogba who has seen a revival in his form of late.

In a system which is narrow, their lack of quality on the flanks won't be much worrying and Marcus Rashford could be used as one of the strikers alongside either Anthony Martial or Edinson Cavani. Either of Fernandes or van de Beek can slot in at number ten while the other can be used in a box to box role alongside Pogba while Scott McTominay would be a good shout in the number six role.

4-4-2 diamond is a versatile formation which can be either possession based or counter-attacking and the success of it relies a lot on the mobility and fluidity of the players.

Manchester United have all the ingredients in their squad to opt for this system and it would certainly make them stronger and can help them keep up in the title race with clubs who are currently superior to them in quality.