Manchester United ‘closing in on £40m transfer for Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek’

Manchester United are expected to make their first signing of the summer this week in the shape of Donny van de Beek.

The Ajax midfielder has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford and can count the likes of Tottenham, Real Madrid and Barcelona among his suitors.

However, he looks set to become a Red Devil with various outlets reporting that a £40million transfer is close to completion.

The 23-year-old is understood to have agreed terms of a five-year contract with an option of an extra 12 months too.

Van de Beek trained alone at Ajax on Sunday as he waits for his future to be resolved and didn’t feature in either Saturday’s 2-1 friendly win over Eintracht Frankfurt or Sunday’s 2-2 friendly draw against Union Berlin.

Ajax chief executive Edwin van der Sar has reportedly confirmed Van de Beek will be allowed to leave Amsterdam this summer, but the former United goalkeeper insisted in June that it would not be in a cut-price deal.

Speaking to Dutch broadcaster NOS, he said: ‘We are not going to have a sale for the best players we have. We prefer to keep them ourselves.

‘A crisis is always taken advantage of and some clubs will get into trouble and maybe have to let a player go earlier or for a lower amount. But I think we are in the fortunate circumstance that we have a strong financial policy, not necessarily needing to sell.’