According to De Telegraaf's chief football correspondent, Valentijn Driessen, via Spanish media outlet Marca, Real Madrid are all but set to win the race for Ajax's Donny van de Beek, who has also been linked with a move to Manchester United in recent weeks.

What's the word, then?

Ever since last summe the young Ajax player has been extremely close to joining the Spanish giants, as Marca explain in their report.

Now, it seems very likely a deal will be done and dusted by the time the upcoming 2020/21 season begins.

There has been some interest coming from Man United, but Los Blancos have seemingly always been in firm control of the 22-year-old midfielder's fate.

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A bid around €55m (£47m) will be needed to get the transfer over the line but provided that there are no drastic changes from now until the summer, the deal should be announced come June of this year.

And Real Madrid truly are getting one gem of a player.

Verdict

It seems that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is set to face disappointment as the Red Devils are not looking likely to be able to rival the Galacticos for van de Beek's signature.

But looking at the 22-year-old's figures in more detail, it's easy to see why he's become such a coveted young star.

Van de Beek has already netted eight goals and eight assists in the ongoing 2019/20 campaign and has both international and European experience to his name.

Not to mention that he proved to be a big-game player for Ajax last season as well, helping them reach the Champions League semi-final with outstanding performances against Real Madrid and Juventus.

It will be interesting to see whether Zinedine Zidane will find a spot for him in his squad but as Marca explain, his arrival might force a couple of departures in the process as well.

In other news, Manchester United are reportedly in the race to sign a wanted Barcelona man...