The teams who should be looking at Manchester United's Donny van de Beek
By Ross Jackson
It's no secret that Donny van de Beek's move to Manchester United hasn't panned out as he would have liked.
The Dutchman has been afforded a measly two Premier League starts since his £40m move from Ajax last summer - something his agent hasn't exactly been shy in moaning about - with cameo roles from the bench the closest he's come to regular first-team involvement.
90min exclusively revealed recently that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is now willing to sanction Van de Beek's Old Trafford departure this summer, with the Red Devils offering the midfielder's services as a makeweight in any future deals as they look to curtail their spending amid the coronavirus pandemic.
With United clearly open to the idea of moving the Dutchman on, we take a look at the clubs who should be monitoring the 23-year-old with a view to a summer move.
1. Borussia Dortmund
If Manchester United are looking to use Van de Beek as a bargaining chip in any future negotiations, it doesn't take a detective to work out that Borussia Dortmund will be offered the Dutchman at some point over the coming months.
Solskjaer's admiration for both Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland has been well documented, and it seems unlikely United will be in a position to fork out the amount of money required to sign either of them outright.
Van de Beek has proven himself to have an eye for goal during his time with Ajax, and should they lose either Sancho or Haaland they're going to need to replace the goals they take with them.
Der BVB have a number of young, exciting talents in their midfield and Van de Beek could fit in perfectly alongside them.
2. Ajax
C'mon, let's get the band back together.
Alright, so maybe re-signing Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt is a bit ambitious, but Van de Beek isn't necessarily out of the question.
Donny had been with Ajax since the age of 11 before he moved to Manchester United, and after a rotten first year away from the club he could be persuaded to head home and start playing regular football in a bid to reignite his career.
With the lure of Champions League football and home comforts on offer, don't rule out Van de Beek opting to head back to Ajax.
3. Paris Saint-Germain
Mauricio Pochettino's time at the helm of Paris Saint-Germain hasn't gone as smoothly as some may have expected.
The Parisians are still in a fierce four-way battle for the Ligue 1 title and a Champions League quarter-final tie with Bayern Munich isn't what they would have wanted.
Pochettino will be keen to bring in his own players in the summer and he's previously spoken of his admiration for the former Ajax man during his time as Tottenham boss.
PSG's squad is glittering in some areas and slightly lacking in others, and Van de Beek's arrival would undoubtedly add some quality.
4. Inter
Antonio Conte has done a great job of piecing together an Inter side that looks destined to secure their first Scudetto since 2010.
However, if they're to establish themselves among Europe's elite once again reinforcements will be needed.
The signing of Christian Eriksen hasn't gone to plan, and though he's beginning to settle in the Inter starting XI he looks a shadow of the player that lit up the Premier League for a number of years.
Van de Beek would not only represent an upgrade on the Danish midfielder, he's also got plenty of time to develop and flourish into a real top midfield talent.
5. Milan
While Conte has done a great job at Inter, it's arguably not a patch on the work done by Stefano Pioli at their city rivals.
Milan suddenly look a threat in Italy's top tier once again, but if they hold hopes of a genuine title tilt which lasts the distance next season they need reinforcements.
You won't find many more physical, combative midfields in European football than Milan's, and Van de Beek's touch of class could be the missing piece of jigsaw.
6. Barcelona
How do you solve a mess like Barcelona?
It seems a bit rich to suggest a side in with a shot of completing a domestic double this season is a mess, but even if they can secure La Liga and Copa del Rey glory, it doesn't hide the fact they're being forced to paper over a host of cracks within the club.
This season's emergence of quality youngsters has helped detract from the issues at Barça, but when they don't shine their midfield has a tendency to just look flat and one-paced.
They'll undoubtedly be further outgoings this summer, and if they can somehow scrape together the cash then Van de Beek would be a great signing.
7. Arsenal
Is this really conceivable?
Well, a few years ago you'd have scoffed at the idea and thought 'there's no way Manchester United will sell to a direct rival' - unfortunately for Arsenal, few consider them to be a direct rival of United nowadays.
Mikel Arteta's squad has a number of areas that need improvement and midfield is certainly one of them. There's a general lack of guile and creativity within their current crop, and with the permanent signing of Martin Odegaard far from assured, they'll need to prepare to look elsewhere.
Van de Beek won't come cheap and it's unlikely that Arsenal will have the sort of money needed to strike up a deal. But in their current situation they almost can't afford not to ask.