Reports | Manchester United to hijack Real Madrid's bid for Donny van de Beek

Erik ten Hag and his young team’s exploits in the Champions League last season have resulted in Ajax becoming Europe’s favourite destination to shop with Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt already out. Hakim Ziyech joined the duo just after the January 2020 window but Donny van de Beek's signature has been coveted with the midfielder heavily linked with a move to Liverpool, Real Madrid and even Manchester United.

Zinedine Zidane is unconvinced with the alternatives he has in the midfield at Real Madrid and with the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric coming of age, the French coach wants to work with exciting new talent. The young Dutch midfielder has continued to impress with stats that many would envy. A regular starter for Eredivisie leaders, the Real Madrid target has netted 8 times this season, assisting on 5 other occasions. 

But ESPN has reported that Real Madrid’s acquisition of the Ajax midfielder will not be as smooth a transaction as expected despite both contract talks and initial transfer fee talks taking place between the Ajax and Real Madrid. However, reports indicate that while the young Dutch midfielder was keen on a move to Spain for a reported fee of €55m, a surprise intervention from Manchester United seems to have complicated the rather linear equation.

The Red Devils are looking for reinforcements and believe Van de Beek is the right man despite already signing Bruno Fernandes in January. With Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira and Paul Pogba all struggling to perform, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking for new midfielders with Van de Beek at the top of the list.