Manchester United's squad is bloated, and certain players need to leave because they aren't getting the game time they deserve.
One of those players is 24-year-old Donny van de Beek, who signed from Ajax in 2020.
At the time, many United supporters were excited about his arrival because they knew he was an exceptional talent. This was a player who got to the Champions League semi-final in 2019. There were plenty of reasons to be optimistic about his signing.
However, it just hasn't worked out for him. Van de Beek is one of those players that has to get some minutes to break into his national team, and the only way he's going to be able to do that is via a move elsewhere. If you believe recent reports, it's looking like that team could be Crystal Palace.
There have been multiple suggestions that Palace have offered a loan deal to United for Van de Beek, and the response from supporters has been overwhelmingly positive. To them, it's a chance to see if he's up to the task of being a Premier League player, plus it also allows the next permanent United manager to choose whether to keep him or not in the summer.
There are other benefits to this move. One of the main criticisms as to why Van de Beek hasn't been able to get into the United squad is the system that's been implemented since his arrival.
Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United played a 4-2-3-1, and Van de Beek was seen as someone who couldn't fulfil the defensive responsibilities as well as the likes of Fred and Scott McTominay.
When Solskjaer left the club, many people anticipated that Van De Beek would get more game time under interim manager Ralf Rangnick, but this hasn't happened. At first, the German was deploying a 4-2-2-2, but he opted for Fred and McTominay as his double pivot like his predecessor.
Since then, he has changed to a 4-3-3, arguably the best formation to suit Van de Beek, but still, he hasn't had a chance.
At Palace, Patrick Vieira has won plaudits for implementing an attacking philosophy in South London, which is now looking likely to save them from relegation.
Under Roy Hodgson, while Palace were safe, there were criticisms that they played boring football, but the attacking emphasis from Vieira means Van de Beek could shine in his system.
Van de Beek can offer balance to an already talented midfield in a midfield trio with Conor Gallagher and Will Hughes.
It will be interesting to see how he performs in this role because it creates an identical plan for United's next manager, who, like Vieira, play with a 4-3-3.
If we're assuming that the next permanent choice for United will be either Mauricio Pochettino or Erik ten Hag, they both play with a 4-3-3 system at PSG and Ajax. They usually have one defensive midfielder and two box to box/attacking midfielders to do the defensive and creative work in the middle of the pitch, and Van de Beek is the perfect player to execute this.
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We must also remember that during Pochettino's time at Tottenham, Van de Beek was linked with a move to White Hart Lane and Erik ten Hag was the coach who made him a special player at Ajax. So, seeing him play in their preferred system at another Premier League side will only help them make a simple decision in the summer transfer window.
If the move happens, it's undoubtedly something for United fans to keep an eye on.
Could a move to Palace benefit Van de Beek? Follow our United On My Mind writer Omar Garrick on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below.
