Former Ajax defender John Heitinga has questioned if Donny van de Beek made the right decision to seal a transfer to Manchester United this season.
The Netherlands international left Ajax for Man Utd in what was a keenly-anticipated move, but he’s not got off to the best of starts at Old Trafford.
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Van de Beek is one of a number of top players to leave Ajax for bigger clubs in recent times, with Matthijs de Ligt at Juventus, Frenkie de Jong at Barcelona, and Hakim Ziyech at Chelsea.
However, Heitinga is unsure Van de Beek made the right move due to the major competition for places at United.
The Dutchman pointed out that the likes of Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes being in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad has made it that much harder for his fellow countryman to make an impact.
Speaking to Stadium Astro, he’s warned that this lack of regular playing time could be bad for his development.
“I have doubts that he made the right decision in going to Manchester United because they have top quality midfielders – Pogba, Bruno Fernandes,” Heitinga said.
“He has to get used to the speed of play, the fitness. It’s tough, it’s intense in the Premier League, the Dutch league can’t be compared.”
He added: “It’s not easy when you see the midfielders at Manchester United to play them out of the team.
“I’m in doubt if he made the right decision to make that move.
“I’m a little bit worried about his development because he isn’t playing many games. At his age, he needs to play games. This is not good for his development.”