Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has faced tons of criticism this season, with one being his failure to hand marquee summer signing Donny van de Beek adequate playing time. However, speaking ahead of their upcoming UEFA Champions League clash with RB Leipzig, the Man United boss has hit back, defending his handling of the situation.
The Dutch talent arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax over the summer with tons of promise. Having been linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, it was the Premier League giants that snatched up the 23-year-old for $52M.
Being a midfielder who can both create and put in a defensive shift when necessary, Man United fans understandably welcomed this deal. However, the Dutchman has found playing time hard to come by.
Van de Beek has been limited to only two starts for the Red Devils, both of which came in the Carabao Cup. So far, the Dutchman has only amassed 61 minutes in the Premier League while coming on as a late substitute in the 2-1 UEFA Champions League win over PSG.
Many have expressed their frustration with Ole in this regard but the gaffer has hit back at his critics, arguing that the former Ajax ace will be an important player for the club this season. The Norwegian gaffer made sure to point out that Man United are in the early stages of their campaign before reminding everyone that he himself did not always start back when he was a Theatre of Dreams player.
"Donny is going to play a big, big part this year,' Solskjaer said, as per the Daily Mail. "At the moment, I realize the topic is Donny van de Beek and it's nice for some players or commentators to have a little go.
"I know you're short for time when you're on telly and you have to put your points across very quickly, but you have to know that you don't have to start the first three games to be a very important player in the squad.
"I'd be disappointed if some of my team-mates said I wasn't important at Man United, but I didn't start many games. So Donny's going to be very important for us, don't worry about that.
"When Donny has played, he's played really well. I think it says a lot about our depth of quality in the squad that we don't have to use him every single game because we have other players as well.
"I also think it says everything about our ambitions. We want to push on, we want to challenge for trophies this season."
The Premier League giants will be in action this midweek, taking on RB Leipzig on Wednesday in the Champions League. This game follows the club's drab goalless draw with Chelsea in the league, with Bruno Fernandes and Co. aiming to make it two wins out of two in Europe.
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