Manchester United agree deal for Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek - reports

After being strongly linked with Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek on Saturday, Manchester United are reported to have agreed a deal for the player just a day later. According to multiple reports, United have agreed a £40 million deal with Ajax, and van de Beek has also agreed to personal terms on a five-year deal.

Real Madrid and Barcelona had also been linked to the versatile midfielder, and The Mirror reports that even Tottenham Hotspur made a late attempt to try to swoop in for the player. Van De Beek is said to have his heart set on a move to United, however, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s personal involvement said to have been a deciding factor.

Ajax CEO Edwin van der Sar was not exactly coy about the fact that van de Beek was available for transfer in this window, and the former United goalkeeper himself name-dropped the Reds as potential suitors months ago. While these links at first were easy enough to dismiss as using United’s “monitoring” of van de Beek as a way to prod other bidders into action, it seems that United’s interest was much more serious than was originally assumed.

Reports on Sunday claim that the 23-year-old has already informed friends and teammates that he is bound for Old Trafford. Van de Beek was absent from training this weekend, and is now expected to be en route to Manchester to finalize the move in the coming days.

Van de Beek has scored 41 goals in 175 appearances for Ajax and has been capped 10 times by the Netherlands. While other reports claim that United are still very much interested in the Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish, a deal for van de Beek is likely a cheaper alternative to the Villa skipper — reportedly valued by his current club at £70-80 million.