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Football

30th Sep 2020

Agent criticises Manchester United’s use of Donny van de Beek

Sjaark Swart has hit out at Manchester United after Van De Beek was only brought on as a substitute in their win over Brighton

Reuben Pinder

“They should have lost 7-1”

Former Holland international Sjaark Swart has criticised Manchester United’s use of Donny van de Beek after the player was only used as a late substitute in United’s narrow and chaotic win over Brighton at the weekend.

Swart is an agent at Players United Management, Van de Beek’s agency, and has went as far as saying United should have lost 7-1 to Brighton.

Van de Beek joined United from Ajax this summer for a fee of around £35m but has not yet made a league start, with Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba both preferred to the Dutchman in the attacking midfield positions.

His impact off the bench has been notable though, as he scored a late consolation goal against Crystal Palace and helped steer United to victory at the AmEx.

However, Swart is not satisfied with how Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is using the player at the moment, telling Dutch outlet VoetballPrimeur: “A substitute; I don’t like it at all. I couldn’t do it, coming on with four minutes left. You’d have to leave me on the bench.

“But, I have to say, he still did three good things. And the penalty, where the winning goal came from, came from him. He did well in those couple of minutes.

“But normally they should have lost 7-1. Brighton hit the post and the bar five times. They (Brighton) have a nice team, but that shouldn’t happen to Manchester United.”

To quote that Liverpool fan who once proclaimed Sadio Mané was the best footballer in the world: If your aunt had bollocks, she’d be your uncle, but she doesn’t, so she’s not.

Anyway I’m not sure he expected, given Pogba and Fernandes’ presence and importance in the United team. He was always going to be a substitute to begin with.