Donny van de Beek's loan deal to Everton is good for him, but Crystal Palace offered him more upside.
Donny van de Beek has finally escaped from his Manchester United hell.
Everton isn't exactly the ideal destination for a man attempting to escape the trappings of a poorly-run football team. Van de Beek is going to another club in turmoil but at the very least he will presumably get more chances to play. Although, that doesn't seem immediately clear either.
One of Everton's few areas of relative strength is in midfield. Abdoulaye Doucoure and Allan previously formed a strong partnership. Andre Gomes has always underwhelmed but has the talent to be a Premier League starter in the right conditions. How Frank Lampard sets up his midfield will obviously impact where van de Beek plays and what his role will be.
At Manchester United, van de Beek was always a deep-lying midfielder because that's the only place he could get the few opportunities he got.
At Ajax, van de Beek was closer to a box-to-box midfielder than a deep-lying or attacking midfield. Lampard could have specifically signed him to play in a 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1. He could turn Doucoure or Allan into the holding midfielder of a 4-3-3. That would free van de Beek to contribute in both halves of the field.
With Richarlison and Demarai Gray, Everton have attackers who can make runs in behind the defence. That may suit van de Beek's range of passing.
But there was a more obvious fit for him. Van De Beek was initially linked with Crystal Palace and Patrick Vieira before Everton and Lampard swooped in. Palace are building well with Vieira. Van de Beek would have fit perfectly in their midfield with the talent in attack to stretch the field and open space for the passing game.
Palace boast a technically-impressive set of midfielders and attackers. They have pace in attack with players who can drift between different positions.
Vieira could have inserted van de Beek alongside Conor Gallagher ahead of a holding midfielder. Palaace then have Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise, Jordan Ayew, Odsonne Edouard and Ebrechi Eze to choose from ahead of them. That's a group that can play similarly to the one that van de Beek did with Ajax.
Furthermore, Vieira has shown he can incorporate players quickly. Lampard can't have made any promises to van de Beek because he doesn't actually know what he has at Everton yet.
Van de Beek will likely leave England one way or another after this loan period. It will make him attractive enough for a foreign team to acquire or it will serve as supposed proof that he's not built for the Premier League. Considering the potential he reportedly had, it will be good if he can carve out a quality role at Everton under Lampard.
It doesn't seem likely though.
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