Van de Beek advised against joining Real Madrid unless he's given first-team guarantees

Mario Melchiot thinks Donny van de Beek should only join Real Madrid if they can give him assurances of his role in the first team.

The Liga giants were strongly linked with signing the Netherlands international in the summer transfer window although he ended up staying put in Amsterdam.

And former Chelsea defender Melchiot has warned Van de Beek against making a move away from Ajax that could limit his playing time, citing Davy Klaassen's struggles at Everton.

"I like Van de Beek’s character and the way he plays," he told Goal. "I just hope his first move is one to play. If not, then they had a player like Klaassen who did really well at Ajax but came to Everton and he couldn’t perform so he ended up on the bench because he couldn't adjust to the English game.

"Sometimes in Holland they underestimate what some of us did to survive playing over there for 10 years. If he [Van de Beek] goes to Real Madrid one day, I am not saying he is not good enough, but if he isn’t given assurances that he will play, or get a fair chance, then he shouldn’t go."

Melchiot also hailed winger David Neres, who played a starring role last season as the Dutch side came within seconds of reaching the Champions League final only to be denied by Lucas Moura's stoppage-time winner for Tottenham.

"Neres is a star player. He breaks open defences. The player looks like an Ajax player despite not being from the youth system," he added.

"You don’t have to be from Holland’s academy system to be at Ajax and be successful. Neres got international success through Ajax, did well at the Copa America and they won it.

"They sold Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt for good money. If you look at that, they can sign players but leave space for another home-grown talent. De Jong and De Ligt are perfect examples. One was signed in De Jong and De Ligt was from the academy.

"They will continue the same way. They can’t hold onto success long, though, because they can’t hold onto their players for a long time. [Dusan] Tadic is staying, he loves Ajax. He is a great fit as a person.

"I want Ajax to do well. At the Champions League final, I spoke to some of the people in charge and they were open to losing a few players as usual, but the run led them to be able to fight to keep a few players. They are doing well financially. They are making great deals."