09 March 2024 , 20:30
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Manchester United flop Donny van de Beek is expected to return to Old Trafford this summer after failing to impress on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Dutch midfielder has been in-and-out of the starting line-up in Germany where he has already been an unused substitute on three separate occasions following his potential career-defining January lifeline.
Frankfurt negotiated an option to buy worth £12.5million plus add-ons when they signed the 26-year-old but the Bundesliga club currently have no intention of triggering the clause, though there is still time to turn things around.
United had hoped that Van de Beek would use the loan move to revive his form but he is currently struggling to win over Frankfurt boss Dino Toppmoller following a series of timid displays. Van de Beek has played 302 minutes of action for Frankfurt so far and has been utilised as both an attacking and central midfielder.
Yet on each of his three Bundesliga starts, he was substituted and there was also further embarrassment when Van de Beek came on against Bochum to replace the injured Hugo Larsson, only to be substituted off again in the second half as he could not "maintain power".
Frankfurt are enduring a difficult run of late, though they recorded their first win in five matches last week when they beat Heidenheim 2-1.
The Holland international will have just one year left to run on his United contract at the end of the season but it's clear he does not have a future at Old Trafford.
The writing is now on the wall for the midfielder having failed to turn his United fortunes around under the tutelage of former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag.
Donny van de Beek has had a tough time so far with Eintracht Frankfurt (Getty Images)United chiefs landed the player for £34m in 2020 after he flourished under their current head coach in Amsterdam - helping Ajax reach the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.
Speaking back in November before his loan move away, Van de Beek conceded he needed to leave United to get his dwindling career back on track.
He said: "I need to start playing games very soon - if not at Man United then at another club. I think I have to be ambitious. I have always been a lover of the game. I am absolutely crazy about football. I earn a good living at United, but money is not my motivation. I want to enjoy my work every day."
Real Sociedad, Lorient and Galatasaray had also shown interest in his services during the winter transfer window but a return to Holland now looks the most probable outcome.