Former Manchester United goalkeeper and current Ajax chief executive Edwin van der Sar has suggested that star midfielder Donny van de Beek can leave the Dutch club amid interest from Man United.
Van der Sar spoke of a transfer agreement that is in place with the tireless midfielder, confirming that the star can leave this summer, according to the Mirror.
Van de Beek has been in superb form for Ajax this season scoring 10 goals and racking up 11 assists for the Dutch club, the kind of form that has attracted interest from Manchester United, who want to sign the 23-year-old midfielder.
While the general consensus is that all transfer fees for players across Europe will be affected by the economic implications of the coronavirus, Van der Sar suggested that Ajax won’t drop their valuations for their star players who reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2018/19.
Speaking about transfer prices of Ajax players to Reuters as cited in the Mirror, Van der Sar said:
“In January last year, people said we were going to lose seven or eight players but we lost only two key members,”
“The big clubs such as Bayern Munich have said the benchmark fee will go down in the next few transfer windows. But it’s easier for them to say because they are the buyers.”
“Of course, the €150m-€200m (£131m-£175m) transfers are gone.”
“But I think there is still a lot of value for players who come from Ajax. Well educated, experienced in winning and playing European football.”
“Last year, we made verbal agreements with [Andre] Onana, [Nicolas] Tagliafico, Van de Beek to stay another season and then we look to help each other and find the next step in their careers.”
“Nothing has changed. There won’t be a 50% discount. The clubs can forget about that.”
Interest in Van de Beek is high across Europe with Juventus and Real Madrid also keeping a close eye on the midfielder and it remains to be seen which top club is leading the race for the Dutchman.
Van de Beek has continued his fine form this season, the Holland international has bagged 10 goals and provided 11 assists in 37 appearances across all competitions.
The 23-year-old’s ability to flourish as either an attacking midfielder or in a traditional central midfield role make him a real talent to watch out for, perhaps he’s ready to test himself at a higher level.