Ole Solskjaer has jumped in defense of Donny Van de Beek after the midfielder’s underwhelming performance against West Ham.
Ole Solskjaer says Van de Beek had a tidy display against West Ham and did his job just as expected.
The Dutchman was given a rare start in midfield with United taking on the Hammers in the FA Cup. It took an extra-time winner from McTominay to seal a quarter-final spot for the Red Devils.
Van de Beek was eventually replaced by a rested Bruno Fernandes after 73 minutes, following a lackluster display in midfield.
Mark Hughes was among the many who criticized the former Ajax star, saying he needs to show more so far.
“You just sense… it looks like they don’t trust him with the ball yet,” Hughes told talkSPORT of Van de Beek.
“I haven’t seen a great deal of movement, I haven’t seen little movements to get in pockets of space, even though you suspect that’s the player he is and those are the areas he wants to work in.”
“He’s been disappointing again. He’s playing for Manchester United, a huge club, he’s got to show more than he’s showing at the moment.”
Solskjaer didn’t agree with the comments above and insists Van de Beek did just what he was asked to do.
“I thought in the first half, we and Donny played really well.”
“We created spaces and he was part of that. He did his job neat and tidy, had a half chance. In the second half, the whole team fell off a little bit and we just wanted to make a few changes.”
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