Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tips Donny van de Beek to emulate Victor Lindelof and Fred by succeeding at Man Utd after being told to ‘pack his bags’

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists Donny van de Beek WILL be a hit at Manchester United… he just needs time.

The Netherlands international has started only twice in the Premier League since his £40million summer arrival from Ajax.

Big things were expected of Van de Been when the deal was done, but it’s undeniable he’s been one of the biggest disappointments of the season.

Van de Beek has struggled since joining Manchester United – starting just two Premier League games

After being an unused substitute in United’s last three games, Valentijn Driessen, a columnist for Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, urged Van de Beek to ‘pack his bags straightaway’ if he does not feature in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Man City – which is LIVE on talkSPORT.

However, Solskjaer believes Van de Beek can emulate Victor Lindelof and Fred at Old Trafford with both players now integral parts of his squad after slow starts.

Lindelof and Fred started just 13 Premier League games in their debut seasons at United, despite costing the Red Devils £31m and £52m respectively.

But the duo are now key figures in Solskjaer’s title-challenging side, with centre-back Lindelof on 19 appearances for the season so far, and Fred, the midfielder, totalling 18 showings to date.

Can Van de Beek emulate Fred and Lindelof?

Victor Lindelof and Fred started slow at Manchester United but are now key players; can Donny van de Beek do the same?

Victor Lindelof at Manchester United

Debut season – 29 appearances/24 starts
Last season – 47 appearances/46 starts
Current season – 19 appearances/19 starts (to date)

Fred at Manchester United

Debut season – 25 appearances/20 starts
Last season – 48 appearances/39 starts
Current season – 18 appearances/16 starts (to date)

Donny van de Beek at Manchester United

Debut season – 10 appearances/8 starts (to date)

“Donny has played well when he’s had the chance,” said Solskjaer.

“I think we are too quick sometimes to jump on, ‘oh he’s not playing, it’s a failure’.

“But with Victor and Fred as examples, it takes a little bit of time and now they are massively important players in our squad, in our team, which will be the same with Donny.

“He has come in and he is in a midfield group there with quality, challenging with Bruno [Fernandes], Juan [Mata] and Jesse [Lingard].

Lindelof (left) and Fred (right) are regular starters under Solskjaer – but they initially struggled at Man United

“I have loads of No.10s, loads of central midfielders with Paul [Pogba], Nemanja [Matic], Scott [McTominay] and Fred, and Donny has done well when he has come in.

“He is always ready, he always works hard in training, he’s positive and he will make differences in many games for us this season. He will grow more and more for next year.”

talkSPORT brings you full LIVE commentary of Manchester United vs Manchester City in the Carabao Cup, kick-off 7:45pm

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