Manchester United have been accused of ‘spending £40million on a squad player’ as they completed a deal for Ajax’s Donny van de Beek.
The Red Devils announced the signing of the Netherlands international on Wednesday and he penned a five-year contract.
But former United academy player Micky Gray has questioned why the club has signed the Dutchman when they already have plenty of options in central midfield, including academy star Scott McTominay.
Before Van de Beek’s arrival was officially confirmed, it sparked a debate over his possible role at Old Trafford.
Is it widely claimed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has brought the Ajax ace to the club to play in a more defensive role to form a versatile three-man midfield with Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes.
However, this has been dismissed by a Dutch football expert, who told talkSPORT Van de Beek is no holding player and instead compared him to ‘Frank Lampard in his prime’.
Others, meanwhile, have questioned what his arrival might mean for Paul Pogba, with former Premier League star Danny Murphy claiming it may be an indication the World Cup winner ‘could be off’ this summer.
But Gray believes Pogba’s place will not be in jeopardy as Van de Beek is only coming to the club for squad rotation.
And the ex-Red Devil has admitted he is ‘surprised’ United have chosen to spend that money on what he believes is a squad player rather than on a game-changing marquee signing, like Jadon Sancho.
“This is such a big surprise for me that Man United have gone for Donny van de Beek before they’ve actually tried to get Sancho in again or another star signing,” the former defender said on The Sports Bar, before the signing was officially announced.
“He’s not the star signing I thought Manchester United would actually bring through the door first.
“Is he even a position they need? If you had asked me midway through last season – Matic was struggling, Fred couldn’t get anywhere near the team, McTominay picked up that bad injury – I’d have said ‘yes, he’s a good signing’.
“But since then Matic has been outstanding, Fred has improved but he’s obviously not for Man United moving forward, and McTominay has come back.
“I think McTominay will be around for the next five or six years, maybe even longer than that, and he can play in that holding midfield role.
“That’s the position they’ve bought Van de Beek for. He’s 23 years old, he got ten goals last season, he’s 6ft 1in, and he’s a very good signing… as a back-up player.
“That’s what really surprises me, that’s where football is right now, they’re buying a squad player for £40m.
“I think Man United’s first signing of the window should have been the one that got everybody speaking, that star signing, like a Sancho – a player who could have taken them from third to first in the league.
“But Van de Beek isn’t going to change too much at Manchester United as a holding midfielder.
“I think he’ll be a good signing for Manchester United, but he’s not the signing everybody has been waiting for.”
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