Man Utd eye swoop for £50m star as Solskjaer demands January signing

Manchester United are plotting a move to sign £50m-rated midfielder Donny van de Beek as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to strengthen his squad this month, according to the Mirror.

United have endured a frustrating first half to the season as they currently sit five points outside the top four in the Premier League table having won just 8 of their 21 games so far and they lost the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final 3-1 to Man City on Tuesday night.

Solskjaer has had to deal with a lengthy injury list throughout the campaign and his options in midfield have been decimated with Paul Pogba facing another month on the sidelines following ankle surgery while Scott McTominay is out for around two months with a knee ligament injury.

It means United have been relying on Fred and Nemanja Matic in the middle of the park recently with Andreas Pereira also deployed in a deeper midfield role to help boost numbers but it’s clear Solskjaer needs to strengthen his squad this month.

The Mirror claims Solskjaer has informed executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward that he needs to sign at least one player during the January window and van de Beek has emerged as a prime midfield target.

The newspaper says Manchester United are now weighing-up a formal move to sign the Dutch international and suggest he may be available for £50m after Ajax were knocked out of the Champions League.

January is usually a tough month to sign marquee players but the fact Ajax failed to progress to the knockout stages of the European Cup means they could now be more open to the idea of cashing-in on van de Beek.

The 22-year-old emerged as one of the most exciting young talents in European football after playing a key role in helping Ajax reach the semi-finals of the Champions League last season so he would be an excellent signing if United could pull it off.

Van de Beek is a creative, goal-scoring midfielder who has proven himself at the highest level so he should be able to make an immediate impact and there is no doubt he’d be a great addition to the Man Utd starting eleven if they were able to lure him to Old Trafford this month.