Rio Ferdinand gives huge Man Utd hint over imminent Donny van de Beek transfer

Rio Ferdinand has dropped a huge hint that Donny van de Beek is about to become a Manchester United player – and so has Edwin van der Sar.

Van de Beek is on the verge of completing a £40million switch from Ajax this week, subject to the midfielder passing a medical.

The Dutch ace will become Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first signing of the summer, having been tracked by United since he starred in Ajax’s thrilling run to the Champions League semi-finals last year.

Former Red Devils defender Ferdinand clearly thinks Van de Beek’s arrival is imminent, after he took to Twitter with the simple message “Good Evening @Donny_beek6” accompanied by the eyes emoji.

But it was Ajax chief Van der Sar who dropped the biggest hint – replying to Ferdinand’s tweet with the crying emoji as he prepares to see one of his side’s most talented players depart.

Ex-United keeper Edwin van der Sar is believed to have had a big part to play in speeding up Van de Beek’s expected move to Old Trafford.

Now the Dutch club’s chief executive officer, Van der Sar helped United win four Premier League titles and the Champions League during his six seasons at the club.

He still has a soft spot for his former team, and has been touted as a future director of football at Old Trafford.

And according to The Guardian, his links with United aided Solskjaer’s side in beating off competition from the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona for Van de Beek’s signature.

United fans on Twitter appeared recognised the role Van der Sar had to play, with one tweeting, “Thank you Edwin, once a red always a red” along with a red heart emoji.

Another wrote of Van de Beek: “He’s in safe hands. Thank you for speeding up the deal.”

And one fan predicted Van der Sar would soon be reunited with Van de Beek at Old Trafford, posting: “No need to look after him when VDS can do it himself when he gets that DoF role.”

Van de Beek was believed to be travelling to Manchester on Monday, with the signing set to be announced in the coming days.