From the bench at Manchester United to the beacon of hope at Eintracht Frankfurt. New signing Donny van de Beek is supposed to liven up the Hessians’ offensive. When he introduced himself, he gave hope that this could happen very quickly.
All eyes and camera lenses were on Donny van de Beek on Wednesday afternoon. The midfielder is the first new signing from Eintracht Frankfurt this winter. The 26-year-old Dutchman will wear the Hessian jersey at least until the end of the season – his loan is valid until then. The Hessians then have a purchase option.
In his first public appearance, van de Beek called Eintracht a “big club” and Frankfurt “the right address”. He also had good conversations with his new teammates in the first two training sessions.
New control center in Eintracht’s midfield?
One of them is Mario Götze. Together with him, Donny van de Beek could form the new control center in Frankfurt’s midfield. The two had a short chat in the Eintracht weight room. It wasn’t about tactical details, but rather “we talked about normal things,” said the Dutchman. He further praised Götze as a “very good player”.
If van der Beek has his way, he will – similar to Götze – take a position in Frankfurt’s central midfield. He had already played as a six, but “the eight or ten position will be my best position,” stated the newcomer.
There will likely be a gap in positions six to ten, as Eintracht’s two central midfielders, Ellyes Skhiri and Farès Chabi, are currently taking part in the Africa Cup.
“I immediately had a good feeling”
With the Dutchman, coach Dino Toppmöller has a new option for these open positions. In general, the Eintracht coach tried to help van de Beek: “He told me what role he saw me in. I immediately had a good feeling,” explained the 26-year-old.
The Dutchman was not only positive about his new club and his own feelings, but also about his physical condition. Despite the fact that he hasn’t played at Manchester United recently, he has “trained hard” in the last few months and is therefore feeling “physically good”.
Learned from Christiano Ronaldo
Just two years ago, the right-footer was on the training pitch at Manchester United alongside superstar Christiano Ronaldo. “Ronaldo is very professional and a role model for everyone. That helps when you train with players who have achieved a lot,” said van de Beek.
He wants to share this wealth of experience with Eintracht and could be used in the friendly against SC Freiburg on Friday (1 p.m.). Just a week later, RB Leipzig continues in the Bundesliga. So there isn’t much time to get used to it.
