Manchester United's Dutch midfielder Van der Beek is likely to get his first Premier League start of the season on Saturday. He has performed well in training, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to reverse his negative image.
In the 11 premier league rounds so far this season, Van de Beek does not say that he started, and he did not have much time to play off the bench, with only 15 minutes in total for 2 appearances. The situation is not much different from when he first arrived last season, when he joined Manchester United for a transfer fee of £39 million, but only started four times in the Premier League, which is close to 10 rounds of games. The starting percentage of the season is even lower than last year.
Solskjaer has always claimed confidence in Van der Beek, but has constantly ignored him, not only in the Premier League, but also in all competitions only made 5 appearances, playing only 153 minutes in total. Because van der Beek lacked playing time at Manchester United, he also lost his place in the Dutch national team.
Manchester United fans are also very dissatisfied with this, the last round of Manchester derby, when Van de Beek came on as a substitute in the last 10 minutes, although the defeat was decided, the fans gave the Dutch midfield a huge cheer, which is equivalent to the satire of the so-called coach.
As a result, at Watford this Saturday, Van de Beek is expected to make his first entry into the league squad. Britain's "Daily Mirror" said that during this week's training, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his coaching staff were impressed by the state of The Young Fan and are therefore considering letting him start at the Vikaraci Road Stadium.
Pogba was suspended and certainly could not compete in this match; McTomine was ill and absent from Scotland, and there may be physical problems; Fred went to São Paulo to play for Brazil, and fatigued on a long journey, all of which opened the door for Van de Beek's first league start.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows United desperately need a win, with back-to-back defeats at home in the Premier League to Liverpool and Manchester City, posing a major crisis for his position. The manager also needs to improve his image in the eyes of the fans, and reusing Van der Beek will help.
The message from United fans is clear, and they have been calling for van der Beek a chance to prove himself. The Dutch have been training diligently, and Saturday may finally see their patience paid off.
Van de Beek, 24, has started twice this season in the Champions League against The Youngsters of Bern and the English League Cup against West Ham, but has lost both games and he will certainly hope for a different result this time.
The British "Sun" predicted that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may also give Jesse Lingard and Sancho a chance to start, neither of them has been selected for the England team, so they can fully train and prepare.
Moreover, facing a promoted team and the Champions League group stage next week away to Villarreal are all factors that prompted him to rotate. 48 hours after the match, United will fly to Spain, and only by beating the yellow submarine can they ensure early entry into the Champions League knockout stages.
The manager may arrange for two or even all three of Van der Beek, Lingard and Sancho to start first. Watford are the ideal opponent, and the data shows that United have faced Watford in their last 14 Premier League appearances, with an overwhelming record of 12 wins and 2 losses, and are the opponents that the Hornets have lost the most in the Premier League. In the history of England's top flight, Manchester United have won 18, drawn 4 and lost 4 of their 26 games against Watford, with a win rate of nearly 70%, ranking second among all teams, behind only the 73% win rate against Luton.
Not only that, but Watford have been unable to score in seven Premier League games this season, the most in the league, and have conceded goals in the last 21 Premier League rounds to set a team history record. However, United also have to be careful, scoring more than 3 goals in 3 of the 4 premier league rounds in which Watford have scored goals after the promotion!
It is not yet known whether Van de Beek would change his position if he started on Saturday, and the British media revealed that he has decided to leave the team in the winter transfer window and changed agents. Everton, whose loan request was rejected in the summer window, as well as Newcastle, Wolves and even La Liga giants Real Madrid, are very concerned about van der Beek's situation.