Rafael van der Vaart believes Donny van de Beek deserves a transfer to Manchester United as he lauded the Ajax star ahead of his switch to Old Trafford.

United are closing in on the signing of Ajax midfielder Van de Beek after reaching an agreement over a fee with the Eredivisie giants, who left the Dutchman out of Saturday’s friendly against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Van de Beek had also been linked to La Liga duo Barcelona and Real Madrid, but the 23-year-old Netherlands international appears set for the Premier League in a deal that could rise to £40 million (€45m/$53m).

Former Ajax and Netherlands star Van der Vaart, who also played for Tottenham in the Premier League, praised Van de Beek and believes the Red Devils will benefit from his addition.

“Donny deserves this transfer so much,” Van der Vaart told NOS. “He has played excellent for Ajax.

“And Manchester United really need this kind of player in their team. This transfer is fantastic for us [Dutch people] too. We are all going to follow him now. This move is so deserved.”

Academy product Van de Beek has spent five seasons in Ajax’s first team, accruing close to 200 appearances in all competitions for the Amsterdam outfit.

Van de Beek was one of the star performers for Ajax as they embarked upon a memorable run to the semi-finals of the 2018-19 Champions League.

He scored eight Eredivisie goals and supplied five assists in the coronavirus-hit 2019-20 season, while he managed 10 goals across all competitions.

After being left out of Ajax’s squad over the weekend for a friendly against Frankfurt, Erik ten Hag confirmed Van de Beek’s future at the club was up in the air and a key reason behind his omission.

“The fact that Donny did not play does indicate a direction,” he said. “The request not to let him play did not come specifically from one side. We do that together.

“Agreements have been made about a possible transfer, and if that possibility arises, you must also co-operate.”

Ajax kick off their next Eredivisie campaign on September 13 against Sparta Rotterdam with the coronavirus pandemic seeing no title handed out last season.