Donny van de Beek has joined Everton on loan for the rest of the season from Manchester United.
The Merseyside club do not have an option to make the move permanent.
They will be covering the Dutchman’s salary during his stay at Goodison Park.
Crystal Palace and Valencia were also in the race to sign him, but the Toffees eventually landed the 24-year-old midfielder.
After completing the move, van de Beek revealed that Frank Lampard’s appointment as manager played a significant role in his decision to join Everton.
Van de Beek failed to make a mark at Manchester United
The Dutch midfielder signed for the Red Devils in the summer of 2020.
United paid £40million for his services after the young Dutchman impressed with Ajax in the 2019/20 season.
However, he has made only 50 appearances for United and played 1,836 minutes.
The Dutchman averages just under 37 minutes per match, highlighting his lack of regular football at Old Trafford.
He has registered two goals and two assists and is nowhere near the player he was in his final season at Ajax (10 goals and 11 assists in 37 games).
Is Lampard the right manager for van de Beek?
Lampard has had a relatively short managerial career.
However, what has been a constant in his teams is their willingness to play free-flowing football.
As evidenced at Derby County and Chelsea, Lampard likes to have his midfielders roam around and pick up pockets of space instead of adhering to rigid structural football.
It has pros and cons as defensive stability has been a problem for the new Everton coach.
Looking at Lampard’s personnel management skillset, the former box-to-box midfielder has shined in getting the best out of players who play a similar position to him.
Mason Mount’s initial rise at Derby (on loan) and later recognition at Chelsea was a hand-crafted project by Lampard.
Much like Lampard, Mount is not an immense dribbler of a football.
However, Mount has learned skills such as anticipation, first-time passing, vision, long-range shooting, and other subtle arts.
These elements reflect the ones possessed by Lampard during his playing days.
A look at van de Beek’s Ajax career will remind fans that the Dutchman has a similar playing style to Mount.
The Ajax team fit together seamlessly due to their ability to keep free-flowing possession and play within the midfield pockets.
Van de Beek and Frenkie de Jong (now at Barcelona) were masters of this art, allowing Hakim Ziyech (now at Chelsea) and Dusan Tadic to take over the dribbling and scoring components of the game.
Van de Beek’s ability to read passes, move into pockets, lay down pre-assists and assists made him the star that drew United’s attention towards him.
The Dutchman also had a raw ability to make late darting runs into the box to score vital goals, which can only be further polished by the master of the art – Lampard.
With a manager who will be keen to use van de Beek in a similar role again, he has every chance of reigniting his career with Everton.
