The Red Devils defender has admitted to talking up a switch to Old Trafford for a fellow countryman and expects him to thrive in English football
Timothy Fosu-Mensah has revealed that he played a small part in luring Donny van de Beek to Manchester United with a “biggest club” transfer pitch.
The Red Devils added another Dutchman to their ranks during the summer window when Van de Beek was snapped up from Ajax, with the highly-rated Netherlands international opting to head for Old Trafford over the other options available to him.
Fosu-Mensah sought out a familiar face before that big career call was made, with the Red Devils defender selling the prestige of representing United to a fellow countryman.
The 22-year-old, who once spent time playing alongside Van de Beek in the academy ranks at Ajax, told the Red Devils’ official website: “I told him United is a big club, if not the biggest club.
“I said it’s good if you have the opportunity to come here. We have got very good team-mates, the quality is very good here.
“I said, ‘It’s up to you because I can’t make the decision for you but it’s a very good club’. At the end of the day it was his decision.”
Van de Beek has made a slow start to life in England, with regular game time proving hard to come by amid fierce competition for places.
Fosu-Mensah is, however, confident that the classy playmaker will come good once fully up to speed.
He added: “He’s a good player, a player with a lot of qualities and I think he’s also a good guy so he’ll bring a lot of positive things to the club.”
Fosu-Mensah, who has taken in two appearances for United this season, went on to say of having another compatriot in Manchester: “It feels good.
“It’s special also because we’ve seen each other since we were so small, growing up and then I left when I was 16. He was still at Ajax but we always had good contact with each other.
“When I left for United, I still played for the national youth teams in the Netherlands, the Under-17s, Under-18s, Under-19s, Under-21s, and he was always there. So it’s very special to see him now at Manchester United.”
Van de Beek was handed a started berth in United’s last Premier League outing against West Ham, but he was hauled off at half-time as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer asked Bruno Fernandes to provide a spark in what proved to be another productive afternoon for the Red Devils away from home.
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