Van de Beek brutally put down by Erik ten Hag

Robin Bairner

• 8 Jan 2024 12:04 GMT
• 3 min read

Donny van de Beek’s failure to impose himself at Manchester United boiled down to the player’s injury problems, according to manager Erik ten Hag, who said that the 26-year-old is not the player he once was.

Van de Beek left Man Utd earlier this month to take up a loan deal at Eintracht Frankfurt, having failed to make an impression under his former Ajax boss.

The Netherlands international midfielder had already been at the club for one whole season when Ten Hag took command following a turbulent 2021/22 campaign.

Van de Beek had arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax for €39 million but had already shown signs of being on the slide before his compatriot’s arrival.

It had been hoped that Ten Hag’s arrival might spur the right-footer onto better things, but instead, he featured only 12 times in 18 months under his former mentor.

Ten Hag says the player’s physical condition was mainly to blame.

“From the moment I came here at Man Utd, he wasn't the player I had at Ajax because he was injured and so many times he was unavailable. Then he struggled for a long time with recovering from that injury,” he said.

“I think that injuries are probably the main reason for why he wasn't playing.”

Summer move collapsed

Van de Beek was a player that United tried to move on in the summer, with Ten Hag hinting that reports the player turned down Ligue 1 side Lorient before a deal collapsed with Real Sociedad were indeed accurate.

“We decided on a loan in the summer and nothing came, then his opportunities were so few because also we made appointments and agreements with players and there was conflict in those positions, the competition was high,” the Man Utd manager said.

Van de Beek has been moved to Eintracht Frankfurt on loan for the rest of the season, with Man Utd hopeful he can rediscover his best form so that they can sell him in the summer.