Former Chelsea chief Antonio Conte was back in the headlines this week after being mooted as a likely replacement for under-fire Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The relentless Italian boss is reportedly keen on taking over at Old Trafford if the axe falls on Solskjaer - and that could be good news for United's midfield outcast Donny van de Beek.
Van de Beek has been on the periphery at Old Trafford for the vast majority of his year-long spell in Manchester.
Despite forking out £40million for his services, Solskjaer has seemingly had little interest on integrating the Dutchman into his starting XI, even with United's midfield failings clear for all to see so far this term.
But the Norwegian is now on the brink with the United board after an abysmal run of results was compounded in last Sunday's 5-0 humiliation against bitter rivals Liverpool.
Reports this week have revealed that Conte would be one of United's preferred candidates to replace Solskjaer.
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Conte has already won admirers in the Premier League for his exploits at Stamford Bridge, and he's already given an insight previously into how he could reinvigorate Manchester United - and the exiled van de Beek.
"I tried to change the system to give, first of all, a good balance in the team. First of all, don't lose offensively, but to have a more correct defensive situation. There were players with these characteristics and I knew in my head that we could change and find a new system," Conte told Gary Lineker in a BBC interview during his spell at Chelsea.
"The most important thing for me is to be a team. Every single player must put their talent into the team."
Conte's comments should excited United fans, with their side looking alarmingly unbalanced and incohesive during their nightmare performance against Liverpool last week.
But van de Beek should take heart from Conte's remark on every player in the team contributing.
The Dutch midfielder was one of the stand-out stars of the Ajax team that enjoyed a dream run in the Champions League back in 2019, and the 24-year-old filled a number of roles competently for the Eredivisie side.
Since arriving in Manchester, van de Beek has made just four Premier League starts and has been denied any real opportunity to prove his versatility.
But should Solskjaer be replaced by Conte, that could all change for the midfield maestro.
United's frailties in midfield have been exposed time and time again, with Solskjaer's preferred midfield pairing of Fred and Scott McTominay struggling to impose themselves.
Van de Beek has already shown, although he may prefer and thrive more of a box-to-box role, that he has the discipline capable of performing in a deeper role if needed.
But with Conte's reputation for forging defensive solitary, something that United are in desperate need of right now, it's not out of the question that the Italian could tweak the current system Solskjaer has deployed to free van de Beek up for a more aggressive role like the one he enjoyed at Ajax.
Just last month Van de Beek touched on his experiences with the Dutch outfit and how he's comfortable filling a variety of midfield roles.
“I think I can do [play as a six] but, of course, I don't know what the manager thinks or what he expects from me. I've played in this role before with Ajax," van de Beek told Rio Ferdinand's Vibe with Five podcast.
"Of course, at the end I was playing number ten, but I also played a few games number six. I can play this role. That's really difficult to say [what my best position is]. That depends on how you play as a team. For how we play, I think the best position for me is a number six or eight.”
Van de Beek's versatility may have been ignored by Solskjaer, but it's a trait that would be embraced whole-heartedly by Conte.
Conte reinvented players such as Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses at Chelsea by making tweaks to their positions and deploying wing-backs, so he already has form for hauling players back from the brink.
Van de Beek has every chance of becoming the latest player to kickstart their career under Conte.
