“I had a good feeling,” said Donny van de Beek upon signing for the Eagles. He had followed that gut instinct in the days prior to joining Eintracht and is now “happy to be in Frankfurt”.
“I’m here to help the team and to play at the highest level,” said the Dutchman. “I’m convinced that Frankfurt is the right place and a good place for me.” He most recently laced his boots for Manchester United, but his path in the game obviously began a lot earlier than that.
Big first step
Eintracht’s new number 25 hails from Nijkerkerveen, a quiet, unassuming town with a population of just 2,000, situated approximately 45 minutes to the south-east of Amsterdam. Even as a youngster, the midfielder caught the eye and joined the Ajax youth academy from his local club Veensche Boys.
Van de Beek helped Ajax win the Dutch U19 league title in 2014 and 2015, and he made his debut for Jong Ajax – the club’s reserve side – as a 17-year-old in January 2015.
“Talent of the future”
Just two months later he was included in the matchday squad for the first team’s league fixture against ADO Den Haag. But before he made a senior appearance under former head coach Frank de Boer, the club named him as that year’s “Talent van de Toekomst” – their “Talent of the Future”.
Van de Beek made his maiden senior appearance at the age of 18 on 26 November 2015 in a UEFA Europa League group game at Celtic Park in Glasgow, a game Ajax won 2-1 thanks to a late goal from Vaclav Cerny. Just three days later De Boer named him in the starting line-up against PEC Zwolle, and he played the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 victory alongside a certain Amin Younes, who opened the scoring that day and would also later go on to play for Eintracht.
Dutch champion
The 2018/19 campaign brought a league and cup double for Ajax and eventually, after 41 goals, 34 assists and 175 competitive outings for the club, Van de Beek joined Manchester United in 2020.
In his first campaign for the Red Devils, the 19-time Netherlands international made 36 appearances in all competitions, before injuries took their toll. He had a loan spell at Premier League rivals Everton, but struggled to establish himself in England. Now, the 26-year-old has chosen Eintracht as the ideal place to kick back into gear.
“Donny van de Beek fits our playing philosophy perfectly and is an important piece of the puzzle for our squad,” said Eintracht board member for sport Markus Krösche. “He brings plenty of international experience, which our young players will profit from. Donny also carries a goal threat and should be particularly useful when it comes to getting our forwards into promising positions.”
We offer you a very warm welcome to Frankfurt, Donny van de Beek!
