Everton have signed Donny Van de Beek on loan from Manchester United until end of 2021-22 season.
Since arriving from Ajax last season, Van de Beek has struggled to impress for Man Utd, having scored twice in 50 appearances for the Red Devils in all competitions.
Speaking about his decision to join Everton on loan, the 24 year-old admitted that he was “really happy” to complete the move and can’t wait to begin playing first-team football regularly, although he is cup-tied for their FA Cup clash against Brentford on Saturday 5 February.
Van de Beek added that he is keen to help Everton avoid relegation and is hopeful that he can rediscover his talent whilst at Goodison Park as he said: “I hope to bring my football qualities, my passing, and, of course, scoring goals.
“It is a big part of my game to score and give assists and I will try to do that again. And it is not only offensive, you have to defend as a midfielder and I can do that as well.”
Van de Beek is the first signing of new Everton manager, Frank Lampard who was officially unveiled just hours earlier, with the midfielder having already enjoyed “a really positive meeting” with Lampard about his vision and plans for the rest of this season.
During his time at Ajax, Van de Beek previously played against Lampard during the Englishman’s time in charge of Chelsea, with the Dutch midfielder finding the net in a 4-4 thriller at Stamford Bridge after Ajax lost 1-0 at home in the group stage of 2019-20 Champions League.
Van de Beek therefore believes that Lampard knows that he can help Everton from his previous experience of watching him from the opposition dugout.
On how Lampard will benefit his development, Van de Beek is confident that he can make progress as he continued: “I can learn a lot from him because he was a little bit in the same position – a midfield player who scored a lot of goals.
“He can help me a lot, so I think I’m in a good spot.
“I want to improve with Everton. There are always things that can be better and I work hard every day to do that.”
On his new teammates and the club’s relegation battle, Van de Beek iterated that the “most important thing” is to win matches and climb up the Premier League table.
“We have good players in the team and the talent and ability to go up in the league” commented Van de Beek, although he iterated that hard work is crucial to stay up.
Van de Beek also insisted that Everton fans shouldn’t be worried about his fitness levels following just 14 appearances this season in all competitions, as he commented: “I’m fit. I train a lot for myself and I was training a lot with the team at United.”
Van de Beek could make his Everton debut away at Newcastle United in the Premier League on Tuesday 8 February, with the match set to be televised live on BT Sport.