Now, we don’t profess to have an inside line to one of Manchester United’s forgotten man. But we’d imagine that, when he embarked upon a loan move away from Old Trafford during January, this was not what he had in mind.
For the third game in a row, a £34 million player who managed only two minutes of football in the first half of the Premier League season did not even get off the bench for the club who offered him an olive branch in the winter window.
Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek was, once again, restricted to spectator status as Eintracht Frankfurt drew 1-1 at home to Werder Bremen on Friday night. That is despite an injury to Hugo Larsson, with head coach Dino Toppmoller insisting at his pre-match press conference that Van de Beek was ‘an option’ to step in for the talented 19-year-old.
Manchester United misfit has another night to forget
In perhaps the biggest blow the Dutchman has suffered since his arrival at the Commerzbank Arena, Toppmoller opted instead to hand centre-half Tuta a midfield role. Julian Nagelsmann’s former Bayern Munich assistant did not even call upon Van de Beek after Jens Stage had given Werder Bremen a 62 minute lead.
As a result, Van de Beek has not played none of the last 270 minutes of Bundesliga football. In fact, across the last five matchdays, the former Ajax ace has featured just once, a brief cameo off the bench against Hoffenheim over a month ago, on March 3rd.
“We had the opportunity to borrow Donny for six months,” Toppmoller told Sport BILD last week. “He delivered sensational performances at Ajax. There is hope that he can build on the old times here. We couldn’t and didn’t want to miss this opportunity.”
“(But) the others, like Ellyes Skhiri and Hugo Larsson, are currently ahead of him (in the pecking order). He can always change this decision through performance in training. And he’s willing to do that.”
With only six Bundesliga fixtures remaining for Frankfurt, the chances of the 2022 Europa League champions triggering the £13 million option-to-buy clause in Van de Beek’s Manchester United contract are diminishing with every game he spends gathering dust behind the dugout.
Man United, then, may find themselves in the unenviable position of once again trying to find a club willing to take Van de Beek off their hands in the summer.
Summer exit is needed
“It is what it is,” sighs Estelle Bergkamp, Van de Beek’s girlfriend speaking to De Telegraaf about what the future holds for the Dutch international.
“Donny tries very hard. He always does that, and I have nothing but admiration for that. We will see what comes our way in the future.”
“Who knows?,” Estelle adds. “Of course, the Netherlands is always nice, but we are now also very happy abroad. We will see how things go in the future.”
Fellow loanees Hannibal Mejbri and Alvaro Fernandez, at Sevilla and Benfica respectively, are also expected to end up back at Old Trafford, while Borussia Dortmund have made it clear that the costs involved in a permanent deal for Jadon Sancho may be simply too great.