Donny van de Beek has been assured that he will play an important part at Manchester United this season, despite being an unused substitute in Sunday’s draw with Southampton.
Signed for £35million last summer, the Netherlands international endured a difficult first season in English football, starting just four Premier League games all season.
The midfielder then suffered an injury on the eve of Euro 2020 ruling him out of the tournament.
He has since returned to fitness, but has yet to play a single minute in United’s opening pair of league encounters.
The midfield trio of Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay and Fred dovetailed to perfection during the 5-1 demolition of Leeds United on the opening day of the season.
Van de Beek may have expected to be handed a chance to impress against the Saints though, after McTominay was ruled out with injury.
However, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer opted to start Nemanja Matic alongside Fred in a decision which drew criticism from supporters.
United failed to ever really get going at St Mary’s and fell behind to a Che Adams strike, before Mason Greenwood earned them a point in a 1-1 draw.
Speaking after the draw on the south coast, Solskjaer claimed he was happy with his selection decisions, while hinting Van de Beek will be given opportunities in the near future.
"Whenever you don't win a game you look at it but I always look at it as much when you win as well," Solskjaer said. "What could we have done differently?
"I thought Nemanja [Matic] was excellent, Antho [Martial] was close to scoring a goal but Jadon and Donny will be important for us."
The 24-year-old’s lack of involvement at Old Trafford is a hot topic back in his homeland, with former Ajax defender Marciano Vink labelling him a “shadow” of the player since he left the Dutch club.
"He is wasting away at United," he told Voetbal Zone. “Of course he has one of the best, currently number tens in Europe as a competitor.
“Bruno Fernandes is fantastic. If you see what he did against Leeds United last weekend…I think you get really small on the bench, you want to go home and kick in all the doors there.
"You've got Scott McTominay, you've got Paul Pogba... It just won't work. You saw when he came in last season that he was a shadow of the player he was at Ajax. He walked with his soul under his arm.
"The balls he got were then just behind him, or not played well, and then you don't get into your rhythm. It got worse by the week.”
