Donny van de Beek will be involved for Manchester United against Liverpool after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted the midfielder isn’t happy with his playing time so far this season. But while Solskjaer accepts Van de Beek wants to play more, he has praised his attitude around the club and said he reminds him of his own playing days under Sir Alex Ferguson, when Solskjaer found regular starts hard to come by in a winning team.
The £35million summer signing from Ajax has started just two Premier League games and has played just 15 per cent of United’s league minutes at the halfway stage of the competition. Van de Beek’s last start was in the FA Cup third-round win over Watford and he’s been an unused substitute in the three Premier League fixtures since then.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said “I wouldn’t say that Donny is happy, of course he wants to play more, he is driven and he pushes but he gets about his job in the right manner. He reminds me a lot about myself when I first came in that he understands the difficulties and challenges. When we are doing well and have got players who are playing really well in his position, it’s not like we just want to give him games for the sake of it, we know that he plays well when he plays. I was the same with Sir Alex. When he left me out I understood and I was happy for the team to win and he’s that type of guy that he knows he is important for us and knows he is going to play many games. He will definitely be involved in this game against Liverpool and he might be the deciding factor in this game. He trusts his own quality. He is a quietly confident guy who deep down he knows he is good enough and is just waiting for his opportunity.”
Van de Beek and fellow summer arrival Alex Telles have struggled for action this season, with the form of Luke Shaw keeping the £15.4million Brazilian out of the team as well. But Solskjaer has praised the role both are playing in the squad and insists they have played a part in United’s 12 game unbeaten run in the Premier League, even if they haven’t featured much.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said “It’s not easy for Donny or Alex who have been captains at their clubs and they see a team that is performing as well as it is and that means they are not playing as much. But they are still contributing a hell of a lot they are big, big factors in this little run we are having.”
