Manchester United have decided that midfielder Donny Van De Beek is free to leave once again this winter as they look to refresh their squad under Erik ten Hag in the coming transfer windows.
Van de Beek joined the club from Ten Hag’s Ajax in 2019, arriving for a sizeable £35m, but managed just four League starts in his first season and has struggled for gametime at Old Trafford.
The 25-year-old has made 53 appearances for Manchester United, but those have totalled just 1800 minutes, an average of only 33 minutes of action per appearance.
In the Premier League the picture is yet bleaker, with that falling to 30 appearances and 600 minutes. Out of favour under Ralf Rangnick and Ole Gunnar Solskjear, he spent the latter half of last season on loan with relegation strugglers Everton but managed just 7 appearances for the Toffees.
There was hope that a reunion with Ten Hag would spur a resurgence in his stuttering career, but so far he has managed just 19 minutes under his new boss, with the dual arrival of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen pushing him yet further down the pecking order.
Now, as per 90min, he has been deemed surplus to requirements and told that he can leave the club in January, while his lack of game time is almost certain to rob him of a World Cup spot with the Netherlands.
One interested party, Ajax, could prove a perfect destination to rebuild his career, but it is clear that he needs a fresh start away from Old Trafford.
