Ronald de Boer has encouraged Manchester United to sign Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek as he ideally fits the profile of player that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking for.

Speaking about the midfielder, Ajax’s under 19 coach said that the 23-year-old would be an improvement on Paul Pogba, whose commitment and desire to play for the Red Devils has been called into question by critics:

“Solskjaer has indicated that he wants to go in a new direction and wants players who are humble, their heart is with the club, a team player. I think he is tired of the Pogbas running around. He wants players like Donny van de Beek.”

Van de Beek certainly has a lot of qualities going for him. He is a goalscoring midfielder, something which United were lacking before the arrival of Bruno Fernandes, and like the Portuguese, he can create goals as well.

It remains to be seen, though, whether the €50m (£45m) rated Ajax star is a priority for the Manchester club this summer. The likes of Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho are believed to be higher on the list of targets.

However, were Pogba to be offloaded at the end of the season, there is no doubt that van de Beek would be a prime candidate to replace him.