Sjaak Swart, an agent for the company representing Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek, has admitted he would not be happy playing the substitute role like his client currently is.
Van de Beek moved to Old Trafford in a big-money move from Ajax this summer, with United securing his signature ahead of competition in Europe.
He made a flying start to life in Manchester with a goal on his debut in the 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace last week but found himself on the bench for the recent trip to Brighton.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer instead elected to bring the Dutchman on as a late substitute as Manchester United chased looked to secure the game.
It proved to be an inspired choice as Van de Beek played a key role in United winning a late penalty, after Brighton’s equaliser, that was expertly dispatched by Bruno Fernandes to secure all three points.
The midfielder will undoubtedly have been pleased with his contribution, but the agent says he wouldn’t be happy if it were him personally.
“A substitute, I don’t like it at all,” he told Voetbal Primeur.
“I couldn’t do it myself, substituting in with four minutes left to play. Then you’d better let me sit down.
“I have to say: he did three more good things. The penalty, where the winning goal came from, came from him.
“But normally they should have lost 1-7. Five times post and bar, Brighton… They have a nice team, but that shouldn’t happen to Manchester United.”
Of course, these comments aren’t really all that surprising from Swart given the status he enjoyed as a player.
The Dutchman was an icon during his time with Ajax, racking up an impressive 600 appearances for the Dutch giants, a club record.
He, therefore, is not all that accustomed to sitting on the bench and thus probably isn’t one who will happily accept that the modern game is all about rotation and squad depth.
Similarly, he only wants the best for Van de Beek, a player he’s watched grow up, and in that regard, he probably sees him sitting on the bench as something to complain about.
So rest assured Manchester United fans, this is nothing more than an agent venting frustration based on his own personal experience.
