According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, forgotten Manchester United playmaker Donny van de Beek is set to join Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on loan with an option to make the move permanent in January.
The renowned Italian journalist has also detailed that Frankfurt will pay United a loan fee, and the non-mandatory purchase option could cost them about €15 million.
MU had to spend 40m pounds to bring Van de Beek to Ol Trafford in the summer of 2020 from Ajax Amsterdam.
However, the Dutch midfielder only scored 2 goals in 35 Premier League appearances, under the guidance of 3 different MU coaches.
If Van de Beek joins the Bundesliga team under a long-term contract, MU will suffer a huge loss of 27 million pounds in this deal.
Van de Beek was brought to United with much promise after starring for Ten Hag’s Ajax side that remarkably made it to the 2019 Champions League semi-finals, but he has failed to live up to expectations, with a goal on his debut arguably as good as it got for the Dutchman.
There were plenty of fans who believed that Ten Hag’s arrival at Old Trafford last summer could spark somewhat of a career revival for Van de Beek. But if anything, his stock at United has fallen even further during Ten Hag’s tenure.
The 26-year-old picked up a knee injury at the start of the year that kept him out of the second half of the 2022/23 season before a loan move to Ligue 1 outfit Lorient fell through in the summer.
Van de Beek has made only two substitute appearances this season, receiving just 21 minutes of footballing action, and he is now set to leave to get his flailing career back on track. For a long time, it’s looked more than likely that the Dutchman will be on his way out of the club, with former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag finally able to show him the door.
Transfer insider Romano recently broke the news that “advanced talks” were ongoing regarding a move to Frankfurt, with it subsequently being reported Van de Beek was keen on the move. However, an issue in terms of wages popped up not long into those talks, as he nets too much cash at Old Trafford for the German side to be able to stump up.
However, those issues appear to have been smoothed out, as Romano has confirmed the move is happening. Van de Beek’s contract at Old Trafford doesn’t expire until the summer of 2025. United also hold an option for an extra 12 months.
As alluded to above, the buy option is not mandatory, so there’s every chance that the player will return to United in June upon the expiration of his loan term. Even then, a loan exit to see out the remainder of the 2023/24 season would put Van de Beek in the shop window ahead of a potential permanent exit in the summer.