Frenkie de Jong can succeed where Donny van de Beek failed at Manchester United

All Manchester United eyes are trained on Frenkie de Jong at the moment, and whether he will end up making the move to Old Trafford.

All the signs point towards the transfer being on the cards. United and Erik ten Hag obviously want him, and while Xavi wants to keep the midfielder, his club’s precarious financial position might not afford him that luxury. Should De Jong make the move, he will find himself not only reuniting with Ten Hag, but former Ajax team-mate Donny van de Beek as well.

Of course, things haven’t gone according to plan for Van de Beek at Old Trafford. The 25-year-old has struggled to force his way into the side under two managers and his loan move to Everton didn’t quite work out how he would have hoped, with the midfielder sitting out a long spell of his time on Merseyside injured amid a relegation battle. Given the similar paths he and De Jong have taken in their careers, some might be concerned about a repeat situation at United.

In his reaction to Van de Beek’s move to Old Trafford though, former United ace Robin van Persie may have pinpointed why the midfielder has struggled so far. His warning may conversely prove why De Jong is ready for his chance at United.

“Donny will be brought in as a major purchase from Manchester United, but he will discover that those other 22 players have also been brought in as a ‘major purchase’. One had an even bigger transfer than the other,” Van Persie said back in 2020.

“It means that he has to stand there right away and he has to mentally adjust to that. Because Manchester United is in every way a beast of a club.”

In that sense, De Jong has the head start that Van de Beek wasn’t afforded upon his arrival in England. Having spent the last three years at