Everton have completed the signing of Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek on loan until the end of the season.
The arrival of van de Beek is Everton's first under new manager Frank Lampard, who was today officially unveiled as the new Toffees boss. Van de Beek has endured a tough 18 months since his arrival at Man United from Ajax in a deal worth £40 million, making just 27 Premier League appearances in that time, with 23 of them off the bench.
Crystal Palace were originally linked with a move for the Dutch midfielder in this transfer window, but Everton beat the Eagles in the race to sign the former Ajax man following Lampard's arrival.
So, with Van de Beek making the switch to Everton in the January transfer window, what could happen? To find out, we used Football Manager 2022 to simulate the season, transferring Van de Beek to Everton in January.
This is what happened.
Donny van de Beek 'signs' for Everton in January 2022
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to have Van de Beek sign for Everton from Man United on loan before the 11pm transfer window deadline.
This was the 24-year-old's in-game profile on Football Manager 2022.
Let's take a look at how the Dutch midfielder performed under Lampard at Everton, in the second half of the 2021/22 season.
Overall, van de Beek made 15 appearances for Everton, all of which were starts, with the former Chelsea manager making the Dutch midfielder a first-choice option in attacking midfield.
In total, the 24-year-old managed four goals and one assist with Everton in those 15 games, averaging a goal contribution once every three games.
He also won the Player of the Match award on two occasions, averaging a rating of 7.12 per game.
Despite being at the club for just a few months, van de Beek made it into the Toffees best XI for the season, starting in the attacking midfield position ahead of Alex Iwobi, Anthony Gordon, Demari Gray, Andre Gomes and Tom Davies.
Anthony Gordon has an incredible season on loan at Sheffield United in the Championship, but compared to players at the club, three players registered more goal contributions than van de Beek, though they all played many more games.
The Dutch international had the best average rating per game and the most Player of the Match awards, showing how consistent he was for Everton on his arrival.
At the end of the 2021/22 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Everton XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what the Toffee's best XI looked like at the end of the 2021/22 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full Everton best XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Coleman, Godfrey, Holgate, Mykolenko; Doucoure, Allan; Townsend, van de Beek, Richarlison; Calvert-Lewin.
So, how did Lampard's side perform in the second half of the Premier League season after the arrival of van de Beek?
Everton's results from the simulation
After winning their first six games under new manager Lampard, Everton dropped off towards the end of the season, ending the campaign with five straight losses as they finished in 12th place.
The Toffees finished the season on 45 points, earning seven more points than they earned under Rafa Benitez's reign in the same period, 12 points away from the relegation zone.
With Van de Beek in the side, Lampard's men won eight, drew two and lost eight.
Overall this Football Manager simulation predicts that with Donny van de Beek on loan, the midfielder could become a regular in Lampard's midfield in an attacking role, helping push the Toffees towards mid-table.
How do you think Donny van de Beek will do at Everton? Let us know in the comments!
