Former Manchester United favourite Jaap Stam has blamed Donny van de Beek's teammates for his lack of opportunities at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman departed Erik ten Hag's Ajax for a move to the United in the summer of 2020. However, the 25-year-old struggled to cement a regular first-team spot and was forced to play a bit-part role in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure,but will reunite with his former boss in the summer.
As a result of falling down the pecking order, Van de Beek was forced to leave on loan to Everton in search of first-team opportunities. But Stam believes Van de Beek can showcase his capabilities at United but needs others within the squad to perform at a higher level.
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"It’s always a combination of players. It’s not like one player. You can’t say ‘I’m going to bring one player in and the whole team is going to produce better or he’s going to show himself because there’s a different manager’," he told ManUtd.com.
"I think Donny is a good player, we’ve seen him in Holland and when he was at United he didn’t always get the opportunity to play. I don’t know why, because of certain reasons, it’s difficult to say from the outside that this is it, but from what I understand, and what I know, for a player to produce and do well, he needs to have other players around him who can produce and bring him to a certain level, because then it’s easier to step up for yourself as well.
"I think that’s a very important one and then you need to find that combination of players together, to eventually have success. That’s a very important one for the club."
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