Jamie Redknapp says Donny van de Beek will be a ‘great addition’ for Manchester United and insists the Premier League club have not paid over the odds for the Netherlands midfielder.
Van de Beek was announced as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first summer signing on Wednesday, with United signing the 23-year-old from Ajax for a fee of £40million.
Former England star Redknapp expects Van de Beek to emerge as an important player for the Red Devils alongside fellow midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba.
He told Sky Sports: ‘Donny van de Beek will be a really good signing for Manchester United.
‘He’s an exciting player, he knows the game, he’s learnt the right way at Ajax where you learn the basics of how to play football.
‘The game looks easy for him so I think he will be a good signing, not just for the team but for the squad.
‘Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be able to rotate a bit more now and keep players fresh. I’ve got no doubt he will do well and it doesn’t seem like an exorbitant amount of money either.
‘He’s a great addition. They’ve got a lot of quality in that midfield now.’
Van de Beek has insisted he wants to learn from Fernandes and Pogba, who struck up an impressive partnership in Manchester United’s midfield in the second-half of the 2019-20 season.
Fernandes quickly developed into arguably United’s most important player following his January move from Sporting and Redknapp has paid tribute to his influence.
‘That deal nearly didn’t happen and there was talk that it was too much money. But sometimes you’ve got to pay that bit more to bring quality in.
‘The way he bossed games, the way he made things happen and calmed everyone down. He made Paul Pogba look like a lot better play as well.’
